Health care costs to rise 9% in 2010
By the AP –
Employers who offer health insurance coverage could see a 9% cost increase next year, and their workers may face an even bigger hit, according to a report Thursday from consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Costs will rise in part because workers worried about losing their jobs are using their health care more while they still have it, the firm said in the report released to the Associated Press. The report also said rising unemployment is driving up medical costs.
Health care reform legislation currently being hashed out in Congress likely will have little impact on next year’s costs, said PWC Principal Michael Thompson. But he noted that the intense focus on health care may slow price increases.
Here is a recent article in the Washington Post:
“Obama Initiatives Hit Speed Bumps On Capitol Hill
High Price Tag For Reform Bill Prompts Sparring And a Delay”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/18/AR2009061804109.html
This link was sent to me by Senator Snowe (Maine) in her newsletter.
Not mentioned in the article is what I see as the best solution, SINGLE PAYER. What is the cost of Single Payer in big round numbers when compared to the “…draft bill by the Senate Finance Committee would cost $1.6 trillion, a figure that Sen. Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) described as “a jolt of reality.” AND that plan does not cover everybody… What is the equivelent cost of Single Payer to Cover Everybody and leave out only the insurance companies?