Tom Mallon: If I were to just look at my own pocketbook, the Affordable Care Act has been very good for our business. We are working with hospitals that have resisted investing in surgery centers for decades. Now they know they need the low-cost, high-quality venue for surgical care. And they need to partner with their medical staff to align interests for ACOs and bundled pricing that are coming quickly, ACA or no.
My regret is the country currently borrows 40 percent of each dollar it spends. The Affordable Care Act is estimated to cost $1 trillion of new taxes and expenses. The taxes mostly occur over 10 years, and the expenses mostly occur over six years. In addition, a new long term care program was to add $70 million, or 7 percent of the cost. It has been deemed as unsustainable and underpriced. Nothing has been passed to take its place. So if the estimates are correct (a big if…), we have at least a $70 billion problem, with much higher annual costs than the fees and taxes estimated in the years after 2020.
All this is to say that with gridlock in Washington, Republicans making a no-tax pledge, Democrats spending money we don’t have and using new legislation and regulations to freezing business in most sectors from making investments, we are in a terrible situation. It is hard to see how we come out the other side because our problems are all self-induced. Too many promises, too little money. The elections and next year are critical to our future welfare.
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