Kaiser Releases Study on the Cost of Covering the Uninsured

A new study issued by the Kaiser Family Foundation’s Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured finds that the uninsured will spend $30 billion out-of-pocket for health care in 2008 while receiving $56 billion in uncompensated care, three quarters of which will be from government sources. The study, projects the additional cost to the nation’s health care system if all the uninsured were covered by insurance. If everyone were covered, overall costs would increase by $123 billion dollars, or an additional 5 percent of national health spending. The analysis does not assess how much a universal coverage plan would cost the government, which would vary depending on the details of the approach.

The updated study also examines total and out-of-pocket spending for the uninsured.

To view the study go to http://www.kff.org/uninsured/kcmu082508pkg.cfm .