According to consulting firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers, President-elect Barack Obama's plans to revamp the U.S. health care system would provide health insurance for 95 percent of Americans and cost the federal government an estimated $75 billion, as reported by Reuters.

The report issued by PriceWaterhouseCoopers stated that the cost of the plan would increase to approximately $130 billion per year by 2018. Although the plan would extend health insurance to two-thirds of the 47 million Americans who are currently uninsured, it could potentially exacerbate existing problems in the health care system, such as the shortage of primary care doctors. The report further stated that the growing health care costs could make federal costs unsustainably high.

For health care providers, pharmaceutical companies, and health plans that rely on government payment for their services, Obama's plans to reform the health care system would likely increase total revenues but decrease margin. And, because of the current deficit and financial crisis, it is unlikely that any new federal money will be available, so the overhaul might require reallocation of dollars already in the health system.