Health reform to save $590 billion in 10 years

A report by the Center for American Progress and The Commonwealth Fund released Friday found that the health reform bill passed in March 2010 would lower premiums by nearly $2,000 for American families by 2019 and reduce overall health spending by $590 billion from 2010 to 2019.

The analysis, lead by Harvard University economist David Cutler, also projected the federal Medicare program would save $524 million and reduce the budget deficit by $400 billion over the 10-year period. Cutler is also a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning Washington D.C. think tank headed by President Bill Clinton's former Chief of staff John Podesta.

The report concluded that by creating new rules for insurers, health insurance exchanges, and payment reform, the law will also lead to needed modernization of the American health system and improve access to care for millions of currently uninsured people.

"With passage of the Affordable Care Act we have entered a new era in American health care – one in which all Americans will be able to get the care they need, and in which families will be protected from high health care costs," said Karen Davis, president of the Commonwealth Fund, private foundation focused on transforming the health care system. "By changing the way we pay for and deliver care to reward high performance, we will begin to bend the health care cost curve, and all Americans will see real economic benefits."

An overview of the report is available here and the entire 14-page report is available here as a PDF file.