A Professor’s Classroom

I try to find info for the reader that is not commonly out there to help in the understanding of the issue of health care and the debate.

While doing some research I found an article in Reuters about this subject.

Opponents say a cheaper, government plan will make it impossible for private plans to compete and may drive some out of business. It could also encourage employers to drop coverage and make employees buy a government-backed plan, they say.

Overall, an exchange with a Medicare-like plan will save nearly $3 trillion through 2020, saving consumers up to $2,200 per household, Commonwealth found. About $2 trillion of that would come after about five to six years, it said.

In comparison, an exchange including a government plan with higher rates would save $1.97 trillion and a private plan-only exchange would save almost $1.2 trillion. Both options would save a household $1,600.

Still, an exchange won’t keep health costs from rising, the report added.

The increase in federal budget costs from 2010 to 2020 with the Medicare-like public plan would be $112 billion, it found. That is compared to $232 billion under the public plan with somewhat higher rates and $360 billion under a private plan-only exchange.

All three options would help insure nearly all Americans, it said, with the number of uninsured dropping to about 4 million people by 2012.

The group’s analysis assumed other changes would also be made to the U.S. healthcare market. These include payment reforms to the Medicare program, an expansion of existing government coverage and new regulations that would require insurers to cover a wider range of consumers.

These figures should appear in the debate somewhere.  Repubs will most likely avoid using or mentioning this report in any way for it would crap all over their “cost too much” argument.

But there is a desparate need for ALL the information to be given to the people….that is assuning the Congress is truly listening to the people they say are contacting them on the subject….personally, I think it is not all that true….the opinions are being bought.