WASHINGTON--U.S. reforms will slightly accelerate the rise in healthcare spending, according to a survey released on Thursday, handing Republicans more ammunition as they attack the Obama administration's legislative victory.
The survey, conducted by U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) auditors, said the spending bump is modest, and the more dramatic change is in how money is spent as roughly 32 million Americans gain coverage.
Government researchers said U.S. healthcare spending will rise at an average annual rate of 6.3 percent over the next decade, reaching almost $4.6 trillion by 2019. That compares to a prior prediction released in February of a 6.1 percent average annual rise, before health reform was passed.
But the CMS said they expect the sharp changes to come in the type of spending--not only curbing Medicare costs but also pumping more money toward the private sector--as the bulk of the recently passed law starts taking effect in 2014. Medicare is the U.S. government's health insurance program for the elderly and disabled.
"The overall net impact is moderate," said Andrea Sisko, a CMS actuary who helped analyze the data. "But when you peel back the onion and you start looking underneath the surface, you start to see a much more pronounced impact on payers."
The study is just one of a slew being pumped out ahead of the November mid-term elections as Democrats hail healthcare reform as a legislative victory and Republicans decry "ObamaCare" as a taxpayer burden that destroys jobs. Another study found most U.S. adults still confused about when to expect health care changes. A third study showed having more primary care doctors available--an issue addressed by healthcare reform--does not necessarily translate to healthier patients.
The confusion hands lawmakers a chance to shape public perception of healthcare to their political liking, especially because it will take years for most of the reforms to take effect.