The Cost of Failure to Enact Health Reform

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Urban Institute have released a study that the groups say underscores the financial necessity of reform.

The report breaks out the coverage and cost estimates for each state. Below is a snapshot of Texas' data. You can see it in larger, clearer detail on page 57. If you live elsewhere, the state projections begin alphabetically on page 14.

Researchers from the Urban Institute used their Health Insurance Policy Simulation Model to estimate how coverage and cost trends would change between now and 2019 if the health system is not reformed. The report shows that under the worst-case scenario, within 10 years:

• The number of people without insurance would increase by more than 30 percent in 29 states.
  In every state, the number of uninsured would increase by at least 10 percent.
• Businesses would see their premiums increase—more than doubling in 27 states.
  Even in the best case scenario, employers in 46 states would see premiums increase by more than 60 percent.
• Every state would see a smaller share of its population getting health care through their job.
  Half of the states would see the number of people with ESI fall by more than 10 percent.
• Every state would see spending for Medicaid/Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) rise by more than 75 percent.
• The amount of uncompensated care in the health system would more than double in 45 states

Read the full report HERE.

Wow, what a concept: Healthcare should Focus on Prevention & Preparedness

I received the Foundation Center's e-newsletter "Philanthropy News Digest" today. As I scanned the headlines, I was drawn to the headline Report Lays Out Blueprint for Modernizing U.S. Healthcare System. The summary information is noted below, click the links for the whole report.

(The first link, Trust for America's Health, has key health statistics by state. The Texas information was disheartening, but not surprising.)

In order to make up for a $20 billion annual shortfall in funding for public health programs, the U.S. needs to establish a stable, reliable funding stream and increase state, local, and federal spending by billions of dollars, a new report from the Trust for America's Health argues.

Funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the report, Blueprint for a Healthier America: Modernizing the Federal Public Health System to Focus on Prevention and Preparedness (134 pages, PDF), found that despite the $2 trillion spent annually on health care in the United States, tens of millions of Americans suffer from preventable diseases, while major vulnerabilities exist in the nation's preparedness to respond to health emergencies. To help address these issues, the report recommends increasing federal spending by $12 billion and state and local spending by $8 billion annually over the next four to five years.

Other recommendations in the report include setting realistic short- and long-term health goals for the country; investing in disease prevention as a cornerstone of healthcare reform; implementing a National Health and Prevention Strategy focused on lowering disease rates and combating obesity; and clearly defining public health emergency preparedness and response roles and responsibilities.

"America's public health system is broken. Serious gaps exist in the nation's ability to safeguard health, putting our families, communities, states, and the country at risk," said TFAH executive director Jeff Levi. "This blueprint reflects ideas from the best and the brightest minds in public health for ways to prevent disease, prepare for disasters, and bring down healthcare costs."

“Trust for America's Health Releases Blueprint for Modernizing Public Health for the Presidential Transition and Next Congress.”

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Press Release 10/21/08.