One gentleman pointed out that cost of healthcare has been rising more slowly. The other gentleman agreed, but took the position that this is a coincidence, as there is nothing in the ACA that cuts costs.
There are most definitely costs cut by virtue of the ACA. In the bill is the requirement that insurance companies spend 80% of their total revenue on benefits. That's aimed at controlling costs.
What is never brought up, at least in any discussions I've seen, is how simply more people having insurance cuts costs. I have posted here the statement from my ER visit where the amount billed was over $9000 and I've posted a statement for some blood work where the amount billed was $1200. Simply because I had insurance, the maximum that could be billed was $167 and $97 respectively for these providers. If I had insurance with a deductible that didn't get met with these services, I could only be billed for the maximum allowed by my insurance. This is a cost saving factor.
The ACA has resulted in millions more people having health insurance, which means they have insurance companies that have already negotiated/contracted with providers to limit what the providers can bill. Is there any doubt this is a factor in the slower rise in healthcare costs?
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