RE: caring for the uninsured...WASHINGTON, DC— Uninsured Americans could incur nearly $41 billion in uncompensated health care treatment in 2004, with federal, state and local governments paying as much as 85 percent of the care, according to a new Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured (KCMU) study. Even with uncompensated care, the study shows that people uninsured for the entire year can expect to receive about half as much care as people fully insured.
Another major finding of the study, authored by Urban Institute researchers Jack Hadley and John Holahan, is that if the country provided coverage to all the uninsured, the cost of additional medical care provided to the newly insured would be $48 billion—an increase of 0.4 percent in health spending’s share of the gross domestic product.
"Leaving 44 million Americans uninsured exacts a substantial price on society as well as individuals, while covering the uninsured would improve their health care without generating large increases in overall health spending," said Diane Rowland, executive director of the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured.
The study, released on the first day of Cover the Uninsured Week, measures the direct cost of care if all the uninsured were provided coverage and used the health system at rates comparable to the insured population. It reflects the potential increase in overall health spending directly attributable to the uninsured, but does not take into account the additional costs associated with major health coverage proposals.
kff.org |
