Bringing Leviathan to Life: Experts Look at the Implementation of Obamacare

Gregg Girvan / June 22, 2010

A June Health Affairs briefing on the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) showed just how deep the chasm is between many of Washington’s policy experts and ordinary Americans.  At the briefing, panelists discussed the potential impact and implementation of the PPACA amidst the public’s uncertainty over the law’s provisions and the likely, as well as the unintended, consequences.

The panelists discussed three main issues: whether the PPACA would bend the cost curve, the states’ role in reforming insurance markets and the impact of Medicaid expansion on the states.

Harvard Professor David Cutler said the law could lower costs because there is so much waste in the health system. He focused on the potential for the general improvement of information technology.  Following Cutler, Michael Ramlet spoke about his paper with Douglas Holtz-Eakin. They estimated that the new law will cost the government far more than projected, and that it would not, as promised, end up reducing health costs for the American worker. (more…)