"An updated actuarial analysis on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) estimates that the law would reduce the number of uninsured from 57 million to an estimated 23 million by 2019 and would increase health expenditures by almost 1 percent, or $311 billion from 2010 to 2019. The report also warns that reductions in payments to hospitals and other providers are unlikely to be sustainable on a permanent annual basis. "
The costs of healthcare reform just got bumped up and the CMS has admitted a reluctant fact. Hospitals will close because of the reduction in payments. Any acute analysis of the hospital sector knows that consolidations are on the rise. Why are hospitals consolidating? They see that reimbursements are going down and they can potentiality make more money by a consolidation services model, as in make money by efficient management. This seems like a repeat of the 1990s managed care disaster.
The fact is that Obama-care is going to drive hospital closures. Whether this is a good thing or not is up to your perspective on economic theory and political persuasion.
http://www.premierinc.com/about/advocacy/publications/outlook/10/april30.jsp#article4
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