The Republican healthcare plan could bankrupt gunshot victims and shift costs of treating those victims to taxpayers, according to a report from the nonprofit Brady Campaign and Center to Prevent Gun Violence.
The report highlights the costs associated with providing care for gunshot victims — initial hospitalizations cost $24,000 to $32,000 per patient, totaling more than $700 million across the healthcare system each year. More than 40 percent of these costs are covered by Medicaid. From 2006 to 2014, the entitlement program paid $2.3 billion of $6.6 billion in initial hospital stay costs for gunshot victims, according to the report. These costs do not include additional treatment after the initial visit or the cost of work loss by victims.
The Republican healthcare plan would roll back Medicaid expansion and cap the program, leaving millions uninsured and potentially unable to pay hospital bills.
"If Congress enacts this plan, the cost of much of this care will shift to taxpayers and consumers with private insurance. Emergency treatment centers will be forced to offset unpaid debts from uninsured patients previously covered by Medicare, Medicaid, or private insurance with higher sticker prices for paying patients, and through greater contributions from other taxpayer-funded programs at the local and state level, which will result in higher private insurance rates and higher taxes," the report reads.
Read the full report here.
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