Health insurers will gain $1 trillion in new revenue over the next eight years under the 2010 health- care law, assuming it’s upheld by the Supreme Court, according to a Bloomberg Government study.
The amount is equal to about one-half percent of the nation’s estimated gross domestic product from 2013 to 2020, and insurers led by UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH) would keep about $174 billion — $22 billion a year — for profit and administrative costs. The money comes from U.S. subsidies to people purchasing insurance beginning in 2014 and an expansion of Medicaid, the government’s health program for the poor.
Health-care law supporters and opponents gather outside the Supreme Court during the first week of arguments. Photographer: Rich Clement/Bloomberg
The Supreme Court is weighing whether the law’s requirement that most Americans carry health insurance is constitutional. If it isn’t, the court will decide how much of the law to strike down.
SOURCE: Insurers Face $1 Trillion Revenue at Stake in Health Law – Bloomberg.