Study: Medicare Public Option Proposal Could Hurt Patients, Hospitals

Creating a government-run, Medicare-like option on the individual health insurance exchanges could negatively affect patient access to care and reduce hospital payments by nearly $800 billion over 10 years, according to a study by KNG Health Consulting released by the American Hospital Association (AHA) and Federation of American Hospitals. The proposal also would result in only a modest drop in the number of uninsured Americans compared to the number who would gain coverage by improving on the existing coverage framework, and be disruptive to both the individual non-group and employer-sponsored health insurance markets, the analysis of the Medicare-X Choice Act found.