Bad news for consumers buried in CMS reform report

The latest projections for reform’s impact on health care spending were released this morning by analysts at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

This numbers show reform’s overall impact will slightly increase spending over the next ten years, not decrease it as hoped for by administration architects. Still, there’s a glimmer of hope in the numbers, since the rate of increase begins to slow below previous projections in the final years of reform — suggesting the changes will, in fact, begin to bend the cost curve.

However, there’s bad news for consumers buried within the overall numbers. Individuals will pay considerably more “out of pocket” because of reform, primarily because of the tax on so-called “Cadillac plans.” For my analysis, you can read more at “Consumers to Pay More Under Reform” on The Fiscal Times website.