Americans who lack health insurance for any part of 2008 will spend $30 billion out of pocket for health services and receive $56 billion in uncompensated care while uninsured. Government programs pay for about three-quarters, or roughly $43 billion, of the uncompensated care bill, researchers report in a Health Affairs web exclusive published Aug. 25. The researchers define uncompensated care as care received but not paid for fully by the uninsured or by a health insurer.
Although covering the uninsured will undoubtedly cost the federal government more, some of the costs could be offset by redirecting the nearly $43 billion that governments currently spend to subsidize the uninsured’s uncompensated care, say researchers. This spending includes roughly $18 billion in special payments to hospitals by Medicare and Medicaid; $15 billion in tax appropriations and indigent care programs by state and local governments; and almost $10 billion in spending by the Veterans Health Administration, the Indian Health Service, community health centers, and similar direct care programs. However, the authors note that redistributing these dollars is unlikely unless universal coverage is achieved.
If all those who will be uninsured for all or part of 2008 were to gain health coverage, their access to medical care would improve considerably, and they would seek and receive more care, according to the researchers. The researchers estimated that the uninsured would increase their medical spending, putting them nearly on par with the privately insured. Total medical spending for the uninsured would increase by $122.6 billion--an amount equal to about 5 percent of current national health spending. Read the abstract.
