How Cap and Trade Affects the Health Care Debate

David Kreutzer / July 14, 2009

The Waxman-Markey energy tax plan will have all sorts of unwanted side effects. As the healthcare debate ramps up, it’s worth noting problems misguided global warming legislation can generate for medical care.

Though it would be nearly impossible to trace all the impacts of higher energy costs on medical services, one broad measure is the impact on the costs of medical care. By driving up energy costs, Waxman-Markey will drive up the costs of running hospitals, manufacturing medical equipment, producing drugs, driving ambulances, and virtually every other component of our healthcare system.

The Center for Data Analysis analyzed the economic impact of the Waxman-Markey energy tax legislation using the sophisticated Global Insight macro model. This model allows detailed analysis of the impacts by industry.

So what happens to healthcare? On top of all the other factors that will lead to higher prices down the road, Waxman-Markey will add an additional 11.6 percent to healthcare costs by 2035 (the last year of the analysis). So, though Waxman-Markey aims its economic bombs at global warming, healthcare will suffer hundreds of billions of dollars in collateral damage each year.