The US is spending trillions less than expected on health care — and uninsured rates are at an all-time low

[Mainecat]

THANKS OBAMA!!!!

 

The US is spending trillions less than expected on health care — and uninsured rates are at an all-time low

Updated by Sarah Kliff on June 21, 2016, 4:30 p.m. ET @sarahkliff sarah@vox.com

 

 

The United States is spending trillions — yes, trillions — less on health care than government forecasters expected when Obamacare passed in 2010.

Back then, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services estimated that the United States would spend $23.7 trillion on health care between 2014 and 2019.

But the forecasting agency has regularly and repeatedly revised spending estimates downward over the past six years. In 2015, it estimated that health care would cost the United States $2.6 trillion less over that same five-year period, a new analysis from the Urban Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation shows.

"It’s a pretty significant reduction, and really across all types of spending," says John Holahan, a fellow at the Urban Institute and co-author of the new report.

This isn’t to say that the health care law caused health costs to grow slower than expected. The authors of the report make it clear that while the Affordable Care Act may have played some role, it is far from the main contributor.

Rather, the figures show that the Affordable Care Act hasn’t exploded the federal budget, as critics charge. Quite the opposite — health costs have risen modestly as the uninsured rate has dropped to the lowest level on record.

Medicare alone has cost $455 billion less than expected

One remarkable fact about the lower-than-expected health costs is that they stretch across the entire health care sector. Medicare spending has come in lower than expected:

So has Medicaid spending:

And so has private insurance:

A bit of this has to do with lower-than-expected health insurance enrollment.

Medicaid, for example, has millions fewer enrollees than CMS initially expected — a product of the Supreme Court making the program’s expansion optional in 2011.

But this isn’t the case everywhere: Medicare, for example, is expected to have 700,000 additional enrollees in 2019 for $96 billion less. Think about that for a moment: Medicare will be spending less money to cover more people.

This has everything to do with the fact that per-person costs of health care are dropping. Forecasters now expect Medicare to spend $12,527 per person in 2019 — significantly less than their estimate of $13,990 in 2010.

One reason health spending is lower: Obamacare cut Medicare prices

The health care law significantly reduced certain Medicare payments. It also created dozens of new programs that pay hospitals based on the quality of care they provide, not just the quantity.

CMS knew all of this when it forecast health spending in 2010. But it didn’t know how exactly the changes would play out — whether hospitals, for example, would sign up for the pay-for-value programs or if they would change the trajectory of health spending. Much to health wonks’ frustrations, some forecasting agencies refused to estimate any savings from these programs. At the time, they were just too unknown.

Now there’s at least some evidence that a handful of these programs are working to reduce costs. Hospital readmissions, for example, have fallen sharply since Medicare began penalizing providers for those unnecessary repeat visits.

Less health spending is good news for budgets — not so much for consumers

Budgeteers will likely cheer the slower health cost growth. Less spending on health care means more money for the government to spend on other things like education or infrastructure.

But for individual consumers, slower health spending likely doesn’t feel cheaper at all. In fact, it probably feels more expensive: One big way private insurers have held down costs is by asking consumers to pay a larger and larger chunk of their medical bills.

Deductibles and copays have steadily grown over the past decade. Separate research shows that patients use less health care when they have to pay more. Sometimes they cut out unnecessary care — but patients will also skimp on the care they need, too.

http://www.vox.com/2016/6/21/11981610/health-spending-slowdown-obamacare

 

 

[Momorider]

[Zambroski]

And I'm sure these numbers aren't being manipulated at all because of this election year and Obama's exit.  It's easy to say they are spending less than expected because they are.  And they are doing it by delaying hundreds of millions of dollars to states and insurance companies prompting lawsuits against the government and insurance providers dropping out of state funded plans.  Also, it is putting states in a big mess too by having to fund something they are supposed to get reimbursement for...and are not or it is coming much later than expected...or being promised it will.

Now, it's sad that this isn't working...but nobody really expected it too.  A shoddy unsupervised plan forced down the throat of the citizens.  But, hey, at least it's a start...maybe we can learn what not to do now and I still applaud Oafbama for at least putting his eggs in a basket and doing something he promised...fucked up or not..at least he did something about our piss poor healthcare in America.

[racer254]

But for individual consumers, slower health spending likely doesn’t feel cheaper at all. In fact, it probably feels more expensive: One big way private insurers have held down costs is by asking consumers to pay a larger and larger chunk of their medical bills.

Deductibles and copays have steadily grown over the past decade. Separate research shows that patients use less health care when they have to pay more. Sometimes they cut out unnecessary care — but patients will also skimp on the care they need, too.

[GGNHL]

2 minutes ago, racer254 said:

But for individual consumers, slower health spending likely doesn’t feel cheaper at all. In fact, it probably feels more expensive: One big way private insurers have held down costs is by asking consumers to pay a larger and larger chunk of their medical bills.

Deductibles and copays have steadily grown over the past decade. Separate research shows that patients use less health care when they have to pay more. Sometimes they cut out unnecessary care — but patients will also skimp on the care they need, too.

 

Huh, the middle class continues to get fucked.

[Mainecat]

Medicare alone has cost $455 billion less than expected

[Mainecat]

1 hour ago, Zambroski said:

And I'm sure these numbers aren't being manipulated at all because of this election year and Obama's exit.  It's easy to say they are spending less than expected because they are.  And they are doing it by delaying hundreds of millions of dollars to states and insurance companies prompting lawsuits against the government and insurance providers dropping out of state funded plans.  Also, it is putting states in a big mess too by having to fund something they are supposed to get reimbursement for...and are not or it is coming much later than expected...or being promised it will.

Now, it's sad that this isn't working...but nobody really expected it too.  A shoddy unsupervised plan forced down the throat of the citizens.  But, hey, at least it's a start...maybe we can learn what not to do now and I still applaud Oafbama for at least putting his eggs in a basket and doing something he promised...fucked up or not..at least he did something about our piss poor healthcare in America.

Its intent was to insure all Americans have health care. It insured 40 million who otherwise wouldnt have healthcare.

ITS WORKING

Edited June 22, 2016 by Mainecat

[Zambroski]

5 minutes ago, Mainecat said:

Its intent was to insure all Americans have health care. It insured 40 million who otherwise wouldnt have healthcare.

ITS WORKING

It's only working on paper.  Those "40 million who otherwise wouldn't have it" have about a 60% default rate in their premiums causing the others rising premiums that are falling just under what they couldn't afford in the first place.  And with states still trying to get their funds from the feds on it to pay fees and insurers, well....it's going south quickly.  

Sorry (and I truly am) but, IT IS NOT WORKING.

[Mainecat]

2 hours ago, Zambroski said:

It's only working on paper.  Those "40 million who otherwise wouldn't have it" have about a 60% default rate in their premiums causing the others rising premiums that are falling just under what they couldn't afford in the first place.  And with states still trying to get their funds from the feds on it to pay fees and insurers, well....it's going south quickly.  

Sorry (and I truly am) but, IT IS NOT WORKING.

Like I said its working. Ask anyone with a pre existing condition......perfect no but it can be better.

[Highmark]

But the forecasting agency has regularly and repeatedly revised spending estimates downward over the past six years. In 2015, it estimated that health care would cost the United States $2.6 trillion less over that same five-year period, a new analysis from the Urban Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation shows.

 

 So because ESTIMATES were wrong we are spending less.  

Edited June 22, 2016 by Highmark

[oleroule]

is spending 'less than expected' a saving?

no

 

[Highmark]

12 minutes ago, oleroule said:

is spending 'less than expected' a saving?

no

 

Only to a liberal or a socialist democrat.  

[SnowRider]

 Gotta love the conservative fucking clowns on here....where up is down, black is white, north is south, facts don't matter, and delusional opinions are confused for facts  And you fucksticks wonder why the R's nominated Dump and the party/ideology is in the verge of collapse.  Own it   

[Momorider]

1 minute ago, SnowRider said:

 Gotta love the conservative fucking clowns on here....where up is down, black is white, north is south, facts don't matter, and delusional opinions are confused for facts  And you fucksticks wonder why the R's nominated Dump and the party/ideology is in the verge of collapse.  Own it   

You forgot were lies are facts, that's your specialization oh and don't forget issues which are leftard talking point Bullfuckingshit which is also some of the crap you use  

[Capt.Storm]

THANKS OBAMA!!!!

 

The US is spending trillions less than expected on health care — and uninsured rates are at an all-time low

 

No fawking chit!

 

YOU  HAVE TO BUY IN OR FACE A FINE!

[Capt.Storm]

But as far as spending less how come rates are going up??

[oleroule]

11 minutes ago, SnowRider said:

 Gotta love the conservative fucking clowns on here....where up is down, black is white, north is south, facts don't matter, and delusional opinions are confused for facts  And you fucksticks wonder why the R's nominated Dump and the party/ideology is in the verge of collapse.  Own it   

[jtssrx]

3 hours ago, Mainecat said:

THANKS OBAMA!!!!

 

The US is spending trillions less than expected on health care — and uninsured rates are at an all-time low

Updated by Sarah Kliff on June 21, 2016, 4:30 p.m. ET @sarahkliff sarah@vox.com

 

 

The United States is spending trillions — yes, trillions — less on health care than government forecasters expected when Obamacare passed in 2010.

Back then, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services estimated that the United States would spend $23.7 trillion on health care between 2014 and 2019.

But the forecasting agency has regularly and repeatedly revised spending estimates downward over the past six years. In 2015, it estimated that health care would cost the United States $2.6 trillion less over that same five-year period, a new analysis from the Urban Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation shows.

"It’s a pretty significant reduction, and really across all types of spending," says John Holahan, a fellow at the Urban Institute and co-author of the new report.

This isn’t to say that the health care law caused health costs to grow slower than expected. The authors of the report make it clear that while the Affordable Care Act may have played some role, it is far from the main contributor.

Rather, the figures show that the Affordable Care Act hasn’t exploded the federal budget, as critics charge. Quite the opposite — health costs have risen modestly as the uninsured rate has dropped to the lowest level on record.

Medicare alone has cost $455 billion less than expected

One remarkable fact about the lower-than-expected health costs is that they stretch across the entire health care sector. Medicare spending has come in lower than expected:

So has Medicaid spending:

And so has private insurance:

A bit of this has to do with lower-than-expected health insurance enrollment.

Medicaid, for example, has millions fewer enrollees than CMS initially expected — a product of the Supreme Court making the program’s expansion optional in 2011.

But this isn’t the case everywhere: Medicare, for example, is expected to have 700,000 additional enrollees in 2019 for $96 billion less. Think about that for a moment: Medicare will be spending less money to cover more people.

This has everything to do with the fact that per-person costs of health care are dropping. Forecasters now expect Medicare to spend $12,527 per person in 2019 — significantly less than their estimate of $13,990 in 2010.

One reason health spending is lower: Obamacare cut Medicare prices

The health care law significantly reduced certain Medicare payments. It also created dozens of new programs that pay hospitals based on the quality of care they provide, not just the quantity.

CMS knew all of this when it forecast health spending in 2010. But it didn’t know how exactly the changes would play out — whether hospitals, for example, would sign up for the pay-for-value programs or if they would change the trajectory of health spending. Much to health wonks’ frustrations, some forecasting agencies refused to estimate any savings from these programs. At the time, they were just too unknown.

Now there’s at least some evidence that a handful of these programs are working to reduce costs. Hospital readmissions, for example, have fallen sharply since Medicare began penalizing providers for those unnecessary repeat visits.

Less health spending is good news for budgets — not so much for consumers

Budgeteers will likely cheer the slower health cost growth. Less spending on health care means more money for the government to spend on other things like education or infrastructure.

But for individual consumers, slower health spending likely doesn’t feel cheaper at all. In fact, it probably feels more expensive: One big way private insurers have held down costs is by asking consumers to pay a larger and larger chunk of their medical bills.

Deductibles and copays have steadily grown over the past decade. Separate research shows that patients use less health care when they have to pay more. Sometimes they cut out unnecessary care — but patients will also skimp on the care they need, too.

http://www.vox.com/2016/6/21/11981610/health-spending-slowdown-obamacare

 

 

My wife has negotiations with healthcare providers every 6 months. This story is complete bullshit. Not to mention it was just published today that Obama care providers are raising the premiums again. 

[SnowRider]

1 hour ago, SnowRider said:

 Gotta love the conservative fucking clowns on here....where up is down, black is white, north is south, facts don't matter, and delusional opinions are confused for facts  And you fucksticks wonder why the R's nominated Dump and the party/ideology is in the verge of collapse.  Own it   

  But you clowns know someone getting hit with higher premiums....never mind the data....you know someone  

[Skidooski]

 Dip shit quoting himself saying  

 

[SnowRider]

3 minutes ago, SnowRider said:

  But you clowns know someone getting hit with higher premiums....never mind the data....you know someone  

[Zambroski]

2 hours ago, Mainecat said:

Like I said its working. Ask anyone with a pre existing condition......perfect no but it can be better.

Yes, I agree for some it is great.  But it's the masses it is hurting...again.  The plan was to help spread out adverse selection by requiring everyone to buy health insurance.  It didn't work, most of the youngsters that are needed to lower costs (because they do not need or want health insurance) are just choosing to pay the tax "fines" for not having it.  Even when it jumped to $750 this year (I believe) it is still a fraction of what it would cost most and even when it is the "tax penalty" it can be frittered into nothing by any decent tax professional or anybody with any brains doing their own.

[Mileage Psycho]

Joe Biden knew what it was.

 

 

[racer254]

The plan was to take more money from the middle class under the guise of healthcare.  It's working as planned and the usual suspects have been grubered.

[Zambroski]

39 minutes ago, Mileage Psycho said:

Joe Biden knew what it was.

 

 

I pretty much shut down after the beginning of any sentence that starts with "Joe Biden knew......."  

There's a damn good reason he's not following the Obama show.  Holy shit of shit-shows!  The Dems figure that house is gonna burn down, let Hillary sleep there while it does.