White House report defends ACA as ‘historic progress’

A report on the “economic record” of the Obama Administration’s healthcare reforms credited the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for lower uninsured rates, increased access to care and slowed growth in healthcare spending.

The study from the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA), which offers guidance on economic policy to the President, also warned of “profound implications” if the law is repealed, as President-elect Donald Trump is planning.

It also detailed the benefits for hospitals, saying the expansion of insurance coverage has “reduced the burden of uncompensated care,” particularly in states where Medicaid was expanded.

“Using data from hospitals’ annual cost reports, the report documents that uncompensated care has fallen by more than a quarter as a share of total hospital costs from 2013 to 2015,” the report’s summary said. “The nationwide decline corresponds to a reduction in hospital uncompensated care costs of $10.4 billion in 2015. Medicaid expansion states have seen a much larger decline in uncompensated care as a share of hospital costs, a drop of around one half.”

For more on the report’s findings, including its argument that the surge in premiums for exchange plans is “a one-time adjustment,” click on the link below: