Healthcare reform may not limit medical bankruptcy, according to a new study and a report by the LA Times. While more people will have coverage, many will still have poor coverage and end up struggling with medical debt. The article refers to a study published in the American Journal of Medicine.  “These data suggest that reducing medical bankruptcy rates in the United States will require substantially improved — not just expanded — insurance,” the report says.

Researchers investigated those who have filed for bankruptcy in Massachusetts during 2009 and compared that to national data compiled earlier. What they discovered as that medical bills contributed to more than half of all bankruptcies. Medical bankruptcies increased by a third and total bankruptcies went up by 51% between 2007 and 2009.

The study shows that insurance in Massachusetts has continued to become more expensive. “It’s really too much money for the average family — especially if the breadwinner is the one who gets sick,” the report says. Uncovered services could make expenses even greater, the study reported. “We need to reduce limits on deductibles and out-of-pocket costs,” an author study said according to the LA Times.

A new government report issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) says they’re not so sure that healthcare reform will slow healthcare spending. In fact, the experts are predicting that spending will increase at an average rate of 6.3 percent which is .2 percent more than spending would have grown if Obama’s plan had not become law.

According to ABC News, nearly one in five US dollars spent in 2019 will go towards healthcare costs. While the report predicts added expenditures, it also points to the fact that more people will be covered under the plan. They predict that roughly 93 percent of Americans will have health insurance in 2019, an additional 32.5 million people compared to current data.

The experts behind the report see the main expenditures of implementing the new health care program to be $38 billion spend on establishing new health insurance exchanges and a $31 billion increase in the cost of Medicaid. While they predict higher spending over the next decade, the researchers did not delve into predictions after 2019.

Even though the healthcare bill hasn’t begun yet, some changes have already started which are increasing expenditures. The creation of a temporary high-risk insurance pool and providing coverage to dependents under the age of 26 are two moves adding $10 billion to national health spending through 2013, according to ABC News. “While the impacts are relatively moderate on net spending, the underlying effects on coverage and financing are more pronounced,” Andrea Sikso, an economist with CMS’ Office of the Actuary and lead author of the study told ABC News reporters Wednesday. “When you peel back the onion, and you look past the surface, you start to see much more pronounced impacts,” John Poisal, deputy director of the National Health Statistics Group at CMS’ Office of the Actuary, and one of the authors of the study, told ABC News.

Employers are still the main source for insurance coverage for most Americans, according to The Columbus Dispatch. Nearly 70 percent of employers offer health coverage which is an increase of about 10 percent compared to last year. That sounds like good news, but even though about 157 million people receive insurance through their jobs, that doesn’t mean they’re not paying for it.

A new survey released from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that Americans will pay about $4,000 to cover their families with health insurance through work. That’s a 14 percent increase, $482 more, compared to 2009 numbers. The main reason workers are being forced to pay more is because a slow economy is forcing companies to push more of the burden on their employees. The price of family policies increased by three percent to $13,770 according to Bloomberg.com. “Businesses have been shifting more of the costs of health insurance to workers through premiums, deductibles and other cost-sharing,” Drew Altman, Kaiser Family Foundation Chief Executive Officer, said in a statement according to Bloomberg.com. “From a consumer perspective, the cost of health insurance just keeps going up faster than wages.”

Wages have increased by about 18 percent while inflation rose 12 percent since 2005. During that same time employees have experienced a 47 increase in their insurance contributions, while premium costs have increased 27 percent. And even though workers are paying more and more each year, they’re actually receiving less coverage. In 2010 more than one out of four employees had deductibles of at least $1,000. “What insurance is in this country is gradually changing. It’s becoming less comprehensive. It looks less and less like the comprehensive coverage their parents got,” Altman told Bloomberg.com. “From the perspective of working people, they’re getting less for more.”

Experts believe large employers are pushing the trend of having employees handle more of the health care cost burden. “We’re seeing that the continued economic downturn is leading to more burden for employees,” Kaiser Foundation Vice President Gary Claxton told Bloomberg.com. He believes that the health care overhaul will help lower insurance costs. “We don’t know how quickly that might happen. At least in the early years, I’m not sure health reform is going to mean that workers are going to face lower contribution amounts,” he said.

Some experts say Medicare may be around a little longer than originally projected. Trustees who oversee Medicare and Social Security are adding another 12 years onto the life of Medicare and they say it’s because of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul. But others remain skeptical that the program’s life has really been extended, according to an Associated Press report. The trustees were careful to add that these projections, “do not represent a reasonable expectation” for hospitalizing America’s elderly.

Originally, Medicare was projected to run out of funds in 2017, but the new report says the program will have enough money to be sustained until 2029. Meanwhile, Social Security is expected to run out of funds in 2037. And the trustees also say they’re not enough money to include a cost-of-living increase in next year’s social security checks.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the report showed positive gains, but that much work was left to be done. “We must continue to make progress addressing the financing challenges,” he said according to the Associated Press. “Those reforms require that we achieve very substantial improvements in efficiency and productivity.”

Analysts say that in the future, more of the economy will be taken up by Medicare costs. Right now 3.6 percent of the economy goes to Medicare, but by 2050, experts say that will grow to eight percent, which equates to hundreds of billions of dollars. John Rother, Executive Vice President of the AARP says the affect of Obama’s health care plan won’t be fully known for a while. “The purpose of the law was to slow the growth in health care costs,” Rother said to the AP. “The fact is we really won’t know until some of the regulations get spelled out.”

The recession isn’t helping matters. For the first time since the 1980′s Social Security will hand out more money than it collects. It’s expected to return to a surplus, but then once again have a deficit in 2015. And by 2037 it will only collect enough money to pay out about three-fourths of the benefits that are owed to citizens. “The fact that the costs for the program will likely exceed tax revenue this year is not a cause for panic, but it does send a strong message that it’s time for us to make the tough choices that we know we need to make,” Social Security Commissioner Michael J. Astrue told the Associated Press. Social Security built up a $2.5 trillion surplus, but the government has borrowed that money over the years to fund other programs.

The Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan is kicking into gear. President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law back in March, which included the creation of the PCIP which makes health insurance available to those who aren’t able to get it because of a pre-existing condition. There are some requirements you must meet in order to be eligible for this government insurance.

• You must have been uninsured for at least six months.
• You must have a pre-existing condition or have been denied health coverage because of your health condition.
• You must be a US citizen or be residing here legally.

This program is only temporary and will only be in affect until 2014 when access to affordable health insurance becomes mandatory. The programs are run differently in each state so you’ll need to research your state’s PCIP. However, funds are limited so many states are offering the program first come first served.

But if you are able to secure a place in the program you will receive benefits such as:

• Coverage for primary, specialty and hospital care as well as prescription drug coverage.
• Fair premiums that aren’t based on your existing condition.
• Premiums that aren’t based on income level.

Roughly two out of three people over the age of 65 will need long term care either at home, through adult day health care or at an assisted living facility. The study, completed by Genworth Financial also found that long-term care isn’t just for the elderly– 40 percent of those receiving it are between the ages of 18 and 64. The study found that while long term care costs are increasing just like other health care costs, the price for in-home care is increasing at a slower rate. The increase over the past five years is 1.7 percent.

While long term care costs continue to rise nationally, the cost for in-home care is rising at a much slower pace. For many Americans, in-home care could even be their most cost-effective choice. “Long term care is not just about nursing homes anymore. Care options have expanded dramatically over the past several years to include a far greater choice of settings that reflect the ways in which individuals prefer to receive care,” Buck Stinson, President, U.S. Life Insurance Products at Genworth, said in a news release.

According to the study, receiving at home care may be more affordable than other options. Five years ago the median rate for a private nursing home room was $60,225 a year. In 2010 that has increased to $75,190. However, rates for a home health aide have increased from $17.50 an hour in 2005 to $19 an hour in 2010. The survey found that Alaska, Minnesota and Rhode Island are the most expensive states for receiving home care. The median hourly rate for an aide there is $25. Compare that to the least expensive states of Alabama and West Virgina where the same services will cost just $15 an hour.

The health care debate is heating up and even though there are lots of angles to argue– no one can deny that insurance is expensive. According to the Commonwealth Fund it’s going to keep increasing. In the past decade the average annual family premium plan doubled in cost, jumping from $6,958 to $13,436. And some say it could double again in the next ten years, reaching a whopping $24,000 by 2020.

Soaring premiums have forced some healthier Americans to forgo insurance coverage altogether. Delaware’s Daily Times says that’s the case for resident Dequilla Hurt who canceled her insurance and won’t have any coverage until her probationary period ends at her new job. They interviewed Hurt for a recent report on the state’s rising health care costs. “I have this window of time where I have no health insurance. If something happens to me, if I go to the emergency room now, the total cost will be on me. Will I be able to afford the cost of an emergency room visit? That worries me,” said Hurt.

A Gallup poll found that the salary you bring in greatly impacts the likelihood of having insurance. Of young adults making more than $48,000 a year, 86 percent have insurance. But of those who bring in half that annually, less than $24,000, only 58 percent spring for a health plan.

Some are pointing to the insurance industry’s lack of competition as the reason why costs are increasing at such a fast rate. In just over a dozen years the industry has experienced more than 400 mergers and the number of choices for consumers has dropped by 20 percent which means fewer options for employers looking for the best deal. The Government Accountability Office says that the five largest providers of small group insurance control 75 percent or more of the market share in 34 states. In fact, one out of every nine Americans has insurance with WellPoint, which is the parent company of Blue Cross Blue Shield and Anthem.

Some say that while insurance companies can carry part of the blame for rising premiums, there are other sectors of the health care industry that are driving up costs for Americans. The Journal Sentinel in Wisconsin talked to a Harvard professor who believes part of the problem lies with consumers themselves. “The primary reason that health care costs and health insurance premiums are rising so rapidly is the amount of health care that we consume,” said Katherine Baicker, a professor of health economics at the Harvard School of Public Health. “Now, that is not to say there are no problems with the insurance industry.”

High deductible insurance plans are presented as the answer to those who cannot afford high insurance premiums. With so many people currently uninsured or who have trouble paying for their health insurance, these high deductible plans seem like the answer.

Everyone knows that going without health insurance is unacceptable so perhaps this is the workable alternative.

Any way to save money on health care costs is worth looking into. Health savings accounts allow you to plan ahead and set aside money that will be spent on health care costs in the coming year.

Choosing your medical insurance policy is a complicated matter. Usually, the only advice that you get is to shop around and read the fine print. There is more to the matter. You need a plan that is suited to you.