CBO estimates impact of ACA repeal legislation on coverage, budget

Posted on: 3/15/17

The Congressional Budget Office and the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation on Monday released an estimate of the effects on health coverage of the American Health Care Act, the legislative package passed last week by the House Ways and Means and Energy & Commerce committees to repeal and replace parts of the Affordable Care Act. CBO and JCT estimate that in 2018, 14 million more people would be uninsured under the legislation than under current law. Overall, the report estimates that nearly 24 million people would lose coverage over 10 years.

CBO and JCT estimate that the legislation would reduce federal deficits by $337 billion over the 2017-2026 period. The largest savings would come from reductions in outlays for Medicaid and from the elimination of the ACA’s subsidies for non-group health insurance.

“The CBO number reinforces our concerns about the importance of maintaining coverage for those vulnerable patients who need it,” said AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack. “As we said in our letter to Congress last week, any changes to the ACA must be guided by ensuring that we continue to provide health care coverage for the millions of people who have benefited from the law. We cannot support a bill that the CBO and others clearly indicate would reduce coverage for so many people.” (AHA News Now, March 13, 2017)