FixHealthCarePolicy

How Harmful Is a Public Plan?

What is the best estimate of how a public plan for health insurance, as outlined in the health bill Democrats are moving through the House, would impact American health care

In seeking an answer to this question, The Heritage Foundation commissioned The Lewin Group, a highly respected health care policy and management consulting firm, to examine the national impact of the bill (H.R. 3200, the “American Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009”).

Lewin projected:

– 48% of privately insured Americans would transition out of private insurance.

– 56% of Americans with employer-based coverage would lose their current insurance.

– 34% of the uninsured in America would still lack coverage.

– Physicians would see their payment levels decline by $31.7 billion as a consequence of the new public plan.

– Hospitals could see their net annual income fall by $61.9 billion, which roughly eliminates hospital total margins.

With estimates from Lewin, the Congressional Budget Office and other groups projecting that millions would lose their private care coverage, it’s important for Congress to slow down the speedy process of pushing through a massive overhaul to our health care system and examine what would and wouldn’t really work.

Tags: Lewin Group, private coverage, public health plan

Illusions of Cost Control in Public Health Care Plans

The available evidence does not indicate that a public plan modeled on Medicare could provide health care comparable to that offered by existing private plans, let alone at a lower cost. Contrary to proponents’ claims, a public plan could not achieve cost savings or substantially reduce the number of uninsured without substantially reducing the quality and access to health care that Americans currently enjoy.

Read more here.

Tags: cost, Medicare, public health plan

Medicare Administrative Costs Are Higher, Not Lower, Than for Private Insurance

Many advocates of a public health plan–either a “single-payer” plan or a “public option”–claim that a public health plan will save money compared to private health insurance because “everyone knows” that the largest government health program, Medicare, has lower administrative costs than private insurance. Some even claim that switching every private insured American to Medicare or something like it could save the nation enough money to cover all currently uninsured Americans.

Read more here.

Tags: public health plan, public plan

A New Public Health Plan: How Congressional Details Will Impact Doctors and Patients

President Obama and congressional leaders are proposing the creation of a new public health insurance plan to compete with private insurance plans. The President first proposed a public insurance option during the 2008 presidential campaign, but now the details and design of this new option–like most other aspects of the health reform legislation currently under development–have been left almost entirely to Congress.

 Click here to read more.

Tags: doctors, patients, President Obama, public health plan, public plan

How a Public Health Plan Undercuts Consumer Choice

Check out Heritage’s latest graphic that illustrates how a public health insurance plan would undermine your choice in the health care system.

Tags: consumer choice, public health plan