Full coverage would mean $123 billion more in health spending, study finds

If all Americans were fully insured, there would be a 5-percent increase in total health spending, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation study (Source: “Uninsured to Spend $30 Billion, Study Says,” Wall Street Journal, Aug. 25, 2008)..

This year, according to the study, $86 billion will be spent on health care for those who do not have insurance. About $30 billion of that total will be paid out of pocket and $56 billion will be covered by other, mainly government, sources.

The study estimates that the health costs for the 47 million uninsured Americans would go up about $123 billion, to $206.8 billion a year, if they were all covered. However, the study does not estimate the actual government costs because of the multitude of approaches to providing universal coverage.

The study, conducted by researchers at George Mason University and the Urban Institute, was released online Monday at the Web site for the journal Health Affairs.