Report: If no reform premiums could double

PRINCETON, N.J., March 15 (UPI) -- If healthcare is not reformed, uninsured Americans could pay twice as much for health insurance in 10 years, a U.S. foundation says.

Premiums will become increasingly expensive for employers and their workers, increasing from $4,800 to $10,300 for single policies and from $12,100 to $25,600 for family policies by 2020, says a report released Monday by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Without healthcare reform, the number of uninsured Americans could grow by 10 million people in just five years, the foundation calculated.

The report also says spending on government healthcare programs for the poor could more than double by 2020.

The report projects that by 2015, there could be as many as 59.7 million people uninsured -- and that number could swell to 67.6 million by 2020. An estimated 49.4 million individuals were without health coverage in 2010, the report said.

Analysts at the Urban Institute used their Health Insurance Policy Simulation Model to assess the changes in coverage patterns.

Under three economic scenarios -- ranging from high levels of unemployment; slow growth in incomes; high growth rates for healthcare costs to full employment; faster income growth; slower growth in healthcare costs -- the analysis shows that the middle-class would suffer most without reform.

For employers who continued to offer health insurance benefits, an increasing amount of the costs would likely be passed on to workers.