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Report: Without health care reform, all suffer

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If the nation’s health care system isn’t reformed, it’s the states that will suffer, says a report released today by the nonprofit Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

“The Cost of Failure to Enact Health Reform: Implications for States” predicts that without some sort of federal reform, every state will see a rise in the number of uninsured, a decline in the number of employers providing insurance to workers, more spending on public programs and ballooning out-of-pocket health costs for individuals and families – especially for the middle class.

In Tennessee, within 10 years, the number of uninsured could jump from the 953,000 reported this year to 1.3 million, the report said. The average Tennessean would see health care spending rise by as much 67 percent; businesses could see premiums increase by more than 100 percent. And providers could see a 123 percent increase in uncompensated care, the report said.

The philanthropic foundation, which advocates for social change and focuses on health and health care, used its Urban Institute “Health Insurance Policy Simulation Model” to estimate coverage and cost trends a decade from now without reform. Researchers looked at scenarios including “worst case” (incomes grow slowly; high growth of health-care costs); “intermediate case” (faster income growth; low growth of health-care costs); and “best case” (full employment, faster income growth and even slower health-care cost growth).

Under the worst-case scenario, the report said, all states would see fewer people getting health care through their jobs and would see Medicaid spending increase by more than 75 percent. Half the states, including Tennessee, would see Medicaid costs more than double.

Kristi L. Nelson may be reached at 865-342-6434.

Ā© Copyright 2007, E.W. Scripps Co.. Displayed by permission. All rights reserved.

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