For Immediate Release
August 4, 2009
Media Contact: Craig Ladwig
260/417-4094

Prognosis for National Health Insurance: An Indiana Perspective

A study distributed today by the Indiana Policy Review Foundation assesses the impact on Indiana of a type of healthcare proposal now moving through Congress. The study, "The
Prognosis for National Health Insurance: An Indiana Perspective," can be downloaded here.

The research conducted by the national ecometric firm of Arduin, Laffer & Moore is meant to demonstrate the impact, both in Indiana and nationally, of any health measure that significantly expands government’s role in the healthcare market by: 1) Providing an additional $1 trillion in federal subsidies over 10 years; and 2) offering incentives to move current Medicaid recipients into a new federal health insurance program. The study makes these predictions and observations about the impact of such a program:

• Increase national healthcare expenditures by an additional 8.9 percent by 2019.
• Increase medical price inflation by 5.2 percent above what it would have been otherwise due to the higher national expenditures by 2019.
• Pressure the federal and Indiana state budget due to the increased expenditure levels and increased medical inflation. (Higher medical inflation and overall expenditures will ultimately lead to government expenditures that exceed the $1.0 trillion in expenditures on health subsidies.
• The net present value of all additional federal government expenditures through 2019 that will occur as a result of a federal healthcare reform is $1.2 trillion, or a $3,900 bill for every man, woman and child in the U.S.
• In addition to federally-funded expenditures, the net present value of all Indiana state government expenditures through 2019 that will occur as a result of a federal healthcare reform is $2.2 billion, or a $346 bill for every man, woman and child in Indiana.
• The current net present value of funding healthcare reform based on President Obama’s priorities will be $4,247 for every person in Indiana. This comes to a total net present value of $27.1 billion in total costs that Hoosiers will have to bear.
• Reduce economic growth in 2019 compared with the baseline scenario by 4.9 percent for the nation as a whole and 4.4 percent for Indiana.

Due to state-specific healthcare regulations, economic infrastructures and demographics, proposed healthcare reforms will impact each state differently. The study translates the national healthcare costs of the current system, as well as from the proposed reforms, to Indiana and 10 other selected states.

Two adjunct scholars of the foundation, Eric Schansberg, Ph.D., and Sam Staley, Ph.D., are available to discuss with reporters the import of the study's Indiana findings. Contact them at ipr@iquest.net.

The Indiana Policy Review Foundation, Inc.
Mailing address: PO Box 5166, Fort Wayne, IN 46895
Telephone: 260.417.4094

Copyright (C) 2009 The Indiana Policy Review Foundation, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Indiana Policy Review Foundation is a nonprofit education foundation focused on state and municipal issues. It is free of outside control by any individual, organization or group. It exists solely to conduct and distribute research on Indiana issues. Nothing written here is to be construed as reflecting the views of the Indiana Policy Review Foundation or as an attempt to aid or hinder the passage of any bill before the legislature or to further any political campaign.