Jul
24
Written by:
Mark Lavergne
7/24/2009 3:10 PM
Millions of Americans would actually lose private insurance under the federal health care reform bill, a study from the Heritage Foundation and the Lewin Group stated in a recent study.
About 88 million could lose their private, employer-based coverage, as they could be transitioned out of their current plan as employers opt out of continuing their existing coverage, a press release from the Heritage Foundation said.
The study projected 103.4 million Americans would end up on the new government-run public plan should the American Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 pass.
"This flies in the face of the current promises that if you like your health insurance coverage, you will keep it," said Heritage Foundation Vice President Stuart Butler. "If the public plan is implemented as detailed in this House bill, people with private insurance will be moved on a public plan, regardless of what they want, because their employers will make that decision because of the financial incentives in the bill."
Other key points from the Lewin Group study include:
*Yearly premiums for Americans with private coverage could jump as much as $460 per person as a result of more cost-shifting.
*Doctors stand to lose thousands of dollars of income under the legislation. Annual physician net income is estimated to drop by 6.3 percent or $13.4 billion (coming in at an average $18,900 per physician) when compared with current trends.
More about the report may be read at http://www.fixhealthcarepolicy.com.