A previous Quote of the Day provided a link to Prof. Kenneth Thorpe’s PowerPoint presentation of his study of the costs of four models of universal health care coverage. The National Coalition on Health Care has now released a formal report of Thorpe’s analysis:
Impacts of Health Care Reform: Projections of Costs and Savings
By Kenneth E. Thorpe, Ph.D.
National Coalition on Health Care
August 2005
Summary of the Coalition’s Specifications:
1. Health Care Coverage for All
2. Cost Management
3. Improvement of Health Care Quality and Safety
4. Equitable Financing
5. Simplified Administration
Viable options for insuring all Americans:
Scenario 1: employer mandates (supplemented with individual mandates as necessary)
Scenario 2: expansion of existing public programs that cover subsets of the uninsured
Scenario 3: creation of new programs targeted at subsets of the uninsured (FEHBP model)
Scenario 4: establishment of a universal publicly financed program (single payer)
In sum, a reformed health care system – reformed, that is, along the lines recommended by the members of the National Coalition on Health Care – would cost our nation much less money than an unreformed system. What should also be clear from this analysis is that a reformed system would produce more value than an unreformed system – by guaranteeing health insurance for all Americans, by increasing the efficiency of the health care sector, and by improving the quality and safety of the care that patients receive.
http://www.nchc.org/materials/studies/Thorpe%20booklet.pdf
Comment: This study demonstrates that, over the next decade, each of the first three scenarios would reduce health care costs by about one-third of a trillion dollars, whereas the single payer model would reduce costs by over $1.1 trillion. Clearly, this study confirms that reform is imperative, and that the onus for convincing the nation that the single payer model should be rejected has been placed on supporters of the alternative models.
This important report should be downloaded and used in your advocacy for a better health care system for all.