Senate GOP Obamacare replacement would lead to 22 million more uninsured in 2026, CBO estimates
Source: CNBC
- The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that 22 million more people would be uninsured in 2026 under the Senate’s Obamacare replacement bill.
- Average premiums are expected to fall in 2026 after initially rising.
- The CBO’s estimate of the plan’s effect on the number of uninsured Americans could influence whether Republican senators support it.
The Senate’s Obamacare replacement bill would lead to 22 million more Americans uninsured in 2026, while average premiums are expected to fall after climbing at first, according to a Monday report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
The CBO’s estimate of the plan’s effect on the number of uninsured Americans could influence whether Republican senators support it, as GOP leaders walk a thin line in trying to win the votes needed to pass their plan. The estimated growth in the number of uninsured Americans is slightly lower under the Senate plan than the bill that passed the House last month, which the CBO said would lead to 23 million fewer covered in 2026.
Average premiums for single individuals would rise by 20 percent and 10 percent in 2018 and 2019, respectively, relative to current law, according to the CBO. By 2026, average premiums in most of the country are expected to be about 20 percent lower under the plan than they would be under current law.
Senate Republicans last week released a draft of their secretive Obamacare replacement bill, called the “Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017.” The plan would repeal Obamacare taxes, restructure subsidies to insurance customers that are based on their incomes and phase out Medicaid’s expansion program. It contains some key differences from the version the House passed last month.
Shortly before the CBO released the score, Senate Republicans unveiled a revised version that appears aimed to deter younger, healthier people from dropping insurance. The updated bill would impose a six-month waiting period on individuals who buy insurance but let their coverage lapse for more than 63 days in the prior year.
That provision, an apparent response to Obamacare’s individual mandate, would start in 2019. It would “slightly increase” the number of people with insurance in the 2018 to 2026 period, the CBO said.
Before the CBO released the score for the Senate plan, five GOP senators said they will not back it in its current form. Republicans, who control 52 seats in the Senate, can only lose two votes to pass the plan. They face difficulties in winning over skeptical senators, as tweaks to appease conservatives could alienate moderates, or vice versa.
Here are some of the key conclusions from the CBO report:
- An estimated 15 million more people would be uninsured next year than under current law, “primarily because the penalty for not having insurance would be eliminated.”
- Lower spending on Medicaid than under current law and “substantially smaller average subsidies” in the individual market would lead to more Americans being uninsured in the following years. Enrollment in Medicaid is expected to fall by about 16 percent by 2026, the CBO estimated.
- The Senate plan would lead to an estimated $321 billion in deficit reduction from 2017 to 2026. Most of those savings would come from a drop in spending on Medicaid, which the CBO expects will fall 26 percent by 2026, relative to current law. That deficit reduction is higher than the estimated $119 billion saved by the House plan.
- While average premiums are expected to fall, out-of-pocket costs could rise for many Americans “because nongroup insurance would pay for a smaller average share of benefits under this legislation.”
- States can also waive Obamacare’s essential health benefits requirement, which covers things like mental health and substance abuse treatment. About half of Americans would live in states modifying EHBs, and could “experience substantial increases in supplemental premiums or out-of-pocket spending on health care, or would choose to forgo the services.”
- Nongroup insurance markets “would continue to be stable in most of the country,” according to the CBO. Premium tax credits would “provide insulation from changes in premiums through 2021 and in later years,” according to the report.
CNBC’s Dan Mangan contributed to this report
