Embargoed Release
September 30, 2009,  12:01 am
Contact:
Communications Coordinator
1-800-838-0388
Consumers for Affordable Health Care is forwarding this report (available Wednesday morning) and press release from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which is embargoed until September 30, 2009 at 12:01 am.  The report has some critical information for Maine people about how much more we can expect to see coming out of our pocket for health care in the next ten years if significant reform does not happen.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation report shows that within 10 years in Maine:
  • As many as 169,000 Maine residents could be uninsured - up from 135,000 this year.
  • The average Maine resident would see his/her health care spending rise by as much as 56%.
  • Maine employers would see premiums continue to skyrocket - increasing up to 89%.
  • Maine government would see Medicaid/CHIP spending rise by as much as 98%.
  • The amount of uncompensated care in Maine would increase by as much as 105%.
EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE                      Contact: Brandon Maitlen 202-745-5117
September 30, 2009; 12:01 a.m. ET                                                          
OUT-OF-POCKET HEALTH CARE COSTS COULD INCREASE BY MORE THAN 35% IN EVERY STATE BY 2019
 
Report Takes State-by-state Look at Impact Failing to Reform Health Care Would Have on Insurance Coverage, Government, Employer and Family Spending
Washington, D.C. - As policymakers continue to debate comprehensive reform of the nation's health care system, a new report commissioned by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) projects that if federal reform efforts are not enacted, the cost of failure would be substantial. In every state, the number of uninsured will increase, employer-sponsored insurance (ESI) coverage will continue to erode, spending on public programs will balloon and out-of-pocket health care costs for individuals and families could increase by more than 35 percent over the next decade. While all income levels would be affected, middle-class working families would be hardest hit.
 
"We hear a lot about the political toll of health reform, but the cost of failing to reform our health care system will be felt most strongly by our state governments, our communities, and most importantly, our families and neighbors," said Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, M.D., M.B.A., president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. "Now is the time to act, because delaying reform makes the problem worse. In just 10 years, the cost to American businesses for their workers' health care could double. The number of uninsured Americans could reach almost 66 million. Individual and family spending on health care would jump 46 to 68 percent, with middle-class families hardest hit. The consequences would be blind to politics and felt by Democrats, Republicans and Independents alike. The only 'universal' thing to come from inaction would be the pain." 
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 analysis examines three scenarios:
 
Worst case - assuming slow growth in incomes and high growth rates for health care costs;
Intermediate case - assumes faster growth in incomes but a lower growth rate for health care costs;
Best case - assumes full employment, faster income growth and even slower growth in health costs.
 
The report shows that under the worst-case scenario, within 10 years:
 
  • In 29 states, the number of people without insurance would increase by more than 30 percent.
The number of uninsured could grow by at least 10 percent in every state under the  worst-case scenario. All told, the number of uninsured Americans would reach 65.7 million.
  • Businesses would see their premiums continue to increase - more than doubling in 27 states.
Even in the best case scenario, 46 states would see employer premium costs 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 employer-sponsored insurance (ESI) fall by more than 10 percent.
  • Every state would see their Medicaid/Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) spending rise by more than 75 percent.
Half the states would see their costs more than double. 
  • The amount of uncompensated care in the health system would more than double in 45 states. 
Even in the best case, uncompensated care would increase by more than 50 percent in 48 states.
 
"While enacting health reform will be difficult and expensive, the cost of failure would be considerable for every state in the union, and affect every community," said John Holahan, Ph.D., director of the Health Policy Center at the Urban Institute and one of the report's authors. "Even in the best scenario, the cost of state-funded programs will grow considerably. Without reform, taxes will likely have to increase significantly to pay for higher Medicaid costs and care for the additional uninsured."
 
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EDITOR: By Wednesday morning, the report will be available online at www.rwjf.org and www.urban.org.
 
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For more than 35 years, the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in your lifetime. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org. 
 
The Urban Institute gathers data, conducts research, evaluates programs, offers technical assistance overseas, and educates Americans on social and economic issues - to foster sound public policy and effective government. See www.urban.org.
Consumers for Affordable Health Care is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that has been helping Maine people get quality, affordable health care for more than 20 years.
 
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For more information or to schedule interviews contact:
Cherilee Budrick, Communications Coordinator
Consumers for Affordable Health Care
207-622-7083
cbudrick@mainecahc.org
 
 
Consumers for Affordable Health Care   *    P.O. Box 2490   *   Augusta, ME   *   04330-2490
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