Lack of Health Care Reform Could Increase Burden for Public Insurers, Taxpayers

03/15/2010

Failure to reform the health care system could significantly increase the burden placed on public insurance programs, according to a recent report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The report was conducted by the Urban Institute and shows that enrollment in the Children's Health Insurance Program and Medicaid would increase substantially without reform, even in the economy's best-case scenario. A slower growth in medical costs paired with full unemployment and faster income growth would cause 7.2 million people to enroll in such programs in the coming decade, while a worst-case scenario would lead to a 12.8 million person growth.

"Costs per enrollee would also increase because of medical care inflation," the report said. "As a result, the cost of financing public programs would place added burden on taxpayers."

Growing health care would also increase the burden experienced by employers and cause many small- or medium-sized firms to drop private coverage for their workers. Those that do not drop coverage may increase their employees' burden by lowering wages, according to the report.

The number of uninsured Americans decreased in 2007 compared with the previous year, according to data from the Census Bureau. Still, the number of people receiving coverage from the government increased during that time frame.

ShareThis