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If reforms at the federal level are not enacted, the cost of
health care for businesses could double and the number of un-
insured Americans could reach 65.7 million within a decade, with
middle-income families hit hardest, a new report from the Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation (http://rwjf.org/
) finds.
Prepared by researchers at the Urban Institute using the
institute's Health Insurance Policy Simulation Model, the
report, Health Reform: The Cost of Failure, examined three
scenarios for income and healthcare cost growth, with the
worst-case scenario reflecting slow growth in incomes and
continued high growth rates for healthcare costs. The report
found that if healthcare reform is not enacted by 2019, total
individual and family spending on premiums and out-of-pocket
costs could jump by up to 68 percent; employer spending on
premiums could increase from $429.8 billion to $885.1 billion;
and federal spending on Medicaid and the Children's Health
Insurance Program could increase from $251.2 billion to $519.7
billion.
The report also found that the biggest impact of leaving the
sys- tem unreformed would be felt by families with moderate
incomes that have less access to public coverage. Indeed, the
number of middle-income earners without insurance could increase
from 12.5 million to as many as 18.2 million by 2019.
"This report makes clear that as battered as our health system
has been in recent years, unless we take action, the worst is
far from over," said RWJF president and CEO Risa Lavizzo-Mourey.
"Without comprehensive healthcare reform, costs will continue to
skyrocket, millions more will lose insurance, and the health of
Americans will suffer. Congress must act quickly and decisively
to make quality health care more affordable and accessible for
all Americans."
"Report Projects Up To 66 Million Americans Could Be Uninsured
by 2019 Unless Health Reform Is Enacted." Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation Press Release 5/21/09.
http://fconline.foundationcenter.org/pnd/20018394/story
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