ObamaCare’s impact on health costs.
“The cost and quality of healthcare will get worse because of healthcare reform rules that let the federal government review rates and set limits on how insurance companies spend their money, small businesses and insurance agents said Thursday.”
“A key government experiment that set out to lower costs and coordinate care for Medicare patients — now the blueprint for an innovation the Obama administration is trying to move to a national scale — has failed to save a substantial amount of money. The five-year test enlisted 10 leading health systems around the country and offered financial bonuses if they could save enough by treating older patients more efficiently while providing high-quality care.”
“Now, with 50 uncompetitive state markets and new federal regulations on what is or isn’t an acceptable insurance plan on top of existing state laws, there will actually be less room for price-cutting competition in health care. You can expect insurance costs to rise as a direct result.”
“This is ObamaCare’s so-called ‘cost-control’: politically motivated handouts that make prescription drugs more expensive while gutting one of the few policy mechanisms that’s proven somewhat successful at restraining the health care spending we’re already stuck with.”
“Monday’s New York Times had another classic entry in the annals of Obamacare. It seems that nursing homes are asking HHS for waivers from Obamacare’s requirement that employers provide health coverage to their workers. Nursing homes, even though they are in the health-care business, often don’t provide insurance to their employees. They can’t afford to.”
“It’s not rocket science: When costs go up, some or all of those additional costs will be shifted to employees. ObamaCare makes it more expensive for many businesses to keep existing health benefits, so employees will end up paying a greater share.”
“Does that mean that the average uninsured patient is getting $1,000 of free medical care paid for by you and me? A lot of supporters of ObamaCare would like you to think so. That’s why we need a mandate, they argue, forcing people to buy health insurance whether they want it or not.
Ah…..but not so fast.”
“U.S. employers can expect an 8.5 percent increase in their medical costs next year due in some part to the healthcare reform law, the consulting firm PwC said in a report Wednesday.”
“Our actuarial modeling of more than 130 employee benefit plans
shows that last year’s health reform law imposes additional costs on
employers’ health plans. The study also shows that the law will create
a financial incentive for some employers to terminate health benefit
plans in 2014 when new Insurance Exchanges take effect.”
“An astounding 93 percent of physician group practices surveyed by a key trade organization warned that they would not join a new healthcare reform program to reward quality of care unless it’s thoroughly reworked.”