With health reform high on the agenda of the new Congress and President, an analysis of legislative proposals--including the plans of President Barack Obama and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT)--shows that several proposals already put forth could substantially reduce the number of uninsured Americans, and would either reduce healthcare spending or add only modestly to annual healthcare expenditures.
The analysis, by Sara Collins and colleagues at The Commonwealth Fund, finds that the proposals outlined by President Obama and Senator Baucus could cover almost all Americans; however, analysts say that to guarantee near universal coverage, mixed private-public proposals like these would need to require that all Americans obtain coverage.
The analysis provides coverage and cost estimates for 2010 prepared by the Lewin Group, assuming full implementation of healthcare plans by then. Lewin projects that by 2010, absent the implementation of any large-scale reform, nearly 49 million Americans will be uninsured.
Read the analysis.
