Urban Institute Says ACA Implementation Would Not Hurt Jobs, Economy
There is no evidence that the full implementation of the Affordable Care Act would reduce employment rates, lead to job losses or have a major effect on the overall economy, according to a new Urban Institute study, Healthcare Finance News reports.
The study is based on the implementation of the 2006 Massachusetts health reform law, which served as a model for ACA. Researchers found that the state's gross domestic product grew at a faster rate than the national GDP following implementation of the state health care law.
In addition, "[g]rowth in other non-health and social assistance industries, which was much slower in Massachusetts relative to the rest of the nation prior to health reform, increased by 3.1% between 2006 and 2010," researchers reported. The study also found that the rate of employer-sponsored insurance increased from 70% to 75% during the years after enactment of the law, which includes an individual mandate.
Lead study author Lisa Dubay, a senior fellow with the Urban Institute's Health Policy Center, said the findings mirror a 2010 study from the Congressional Budget Office that found job losses resulting from health reform would account for only about 0.5% of the workforce. "And many of those losses would likely come from people who are choosing to remain employed as a means of obtaining health insurance," she added (Anderson, Healthcare Finance News, 10/25).
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