The cost of inaction [View All]

THE COST OF INACTION

“So how much higher do premiums have to rise until we do something about it? How
many more Americans have to lose their health insurance? How many more businesses
have to drop coverage? How many more years can the federal budget handle the crushing
costs of Medicare and Medicaid? When is the right time for health insurance reform?”

– PRESIDENT OBAMA
IF WE DO NOT PASS HEALTH INSURANCE REFORM:

Up to 17 million more people will be uninsured by 2019 than today. 1

The average family's health care costs will nearly double by 2020, from $13,000 to $24,000

— meaning they'll be paying a quarter of their income toward health care costs. 2
Insurers can continue the massive and arbitrary premium rate increases we've heard about
recently — such as Anthem Blue Cross raising rates for customers in California by nearly
40%, and rates in Illinois going up by as much as 60%.

As many as 275,000 people could die prematurely over the next 10 years because they
don't have health insurance. 3

Health care costs will take up a staggering amount of our national budget. In 1960, it was 5
percent of gross domestic product (GDP), last year it was 17 percent. Costs will reach 21
percent of our economy by 2020 if we fail to act. 4

Rapidly rising costs will make it harder for employers — particularly small businesses — to
provide quality health insurance to employees, leading many to drop coverage or shift to
plans that cover less. 5

Even those who have insurance today will be less secure, and more likely to lose coverage if
they switch jobs or lose their job due to rising costs on the individual market or being
denied coverage due to a pre-existing condition. 6

1. http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/411965_failure_to_enact.pdf
2. Commonwealth Fund, via NYT: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/28/weekinreview/28abelson.html
3. Families USA, via NYT: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/28/weekinreview/28abelson.html
4. http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Content/Blog/The-Costs-of-Failure.aspx
5. http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Content/Blog/The-Costs-of-Failure.aspx
6. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/opinion/07sun1.html?pagewanted=all