Reinstating the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) could have significant benefits in a number of areas, according to a quantitative study by The Brattle Group.
The study says that healthcare savings alone would quadruple the annual cost of the ACP program, with the study pegs at $7.3 billion. In addition to healthcare, significant benefits would be gained in education and the labor market, the study says.
The program connected more than 23 million households to the Internet before ending due to lack of funding last May.
“The ACP played a critical role in addressing broadband affordability in the United States over the past several years, and our analysis found that the annual return on investment for the ACP exceeds the expense of the program,” Dr. Paroma Sanyal, Principal at The Brattle Group and coauthor of the study, said in a press release.
“The continuation of the ACP is not just a fiscal necessity to save taxpayer dollars but a strategic investment in America’s economic competitiveness. Without the ACP, the country would lose billions of dollars in cost savings and economic gains.”
It Costs
The Battle Group estimates that a single telehealth visit saves Medicaid approximately $1,326.70. Meanwhile, the study says, ACP costs $30 per month plus a one-time $100 device subsidy. This means that the savings from one telehealth visit pays for 3.5 years of Medicaid support.
Key takeaways from the study:
- Healthcare access generates an estimated between $28.9 billion and $29.5 billion in savings annually.
- A switch from one physical visit to telehealth for one single Medicaid recipient could save enough money to fund five years of ACP support for one Medicaid recipient.
- The study says more than 80% of the annual costs of the ACP could be offset solely from $6 billion in Congressional Budget Office (CBO) scorable telehealth-induced cost savings under Medicaid.
- Reinstating the ACP would improve students’ academic performance and benefit their future earnings by over $3.7 billion annually beginning approximately 10 years after high school.
- $2.1 billion to $4.3 billion in annual wage gains from expanded labor force participation could be generated if the program were reinstated.
Other coauthors of the ACP study “Paying for Itself: How the Affordable Connectivity Program Delivers More Than It Costs” were Brattle Group Principal Dr. Coleman Bazelon, and Senior Associate Dr. Yong Paek.
At one point, a replacement for the ACP was considered by Congress. It never materialized, however.
