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Lack of health care reform will be very expensive, according to new study
WASHINGTON – A new report commissioned by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation projects that if federal reform efforts are not enacted, the cost would be substantial.
According to the report, in every state the number of uninsured would increase, employer-sponsored insurance (ESI) coverage would continue to drop, spending on public programs would balloon and out-of-pocket healthcare costs for individuals and families could increase by more than 35 percent over the next decade.
“We hear a lot about the political toll of health reform, but the cost of failing to reform our healthcare system will be felt most strongly by our state governments, our communities and, most importantly, our families and neighbors,” said Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, MD, president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Even in the best-case scenario, the study indicates 46 states would see employer premium costs increase by more than 60 percent, every state would see a smaller share of its population getting healthcare through their job, half of the states would see the number of people with employer-sponsored insurance (ESI) fall by more than 10 percent and every state would see its Medicaid/Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) spending rise by more than 75 percent.
“While enacting health reform will be difficult and expensive, the cost of failure would be considerable for every state in the union and affect every community,” said John Holahan, director of the Health Policy Center at the Urban Institute and one of the report’s authors. “Even in the best scenario, the cost of state-funded programs will grow considerably. Without reform, taxes will likely have to increase significantly to pay for higher Medicaid costs and care for the additional uninsured.”
