off the charts
POLICY INSIGHT
BEYOND THE NUMBERS
BEYOND THE NUMBERS
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) issued its third complete estimate today of the effects of the health reform law (the Affordable Care Act, or ACA). As with its two prior estimates, in March 2010 and February 2011, CBO again estimated that health reform will reduce the deficit — modestly over its first ten years and by an amount equal to about one-half of one percent of gross domestic product over its second decade.
CBO estimates that repealing health reform, as the House voted two weeks ago, would:
- Increase the federal deficit by $109 billion over the 2013-2022 period and
- Cause 30 million people to lose health insurance coverage.
- 6 million fewer people will have Medicaid coverage in 2022, CBO estimates. As a result, the federal government will spend $289 billion less for Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program over the 2012-2022 period.
- 3 million of these people will obtain coverage through the new health insurance exchanges, increasing the cost of exchange subsidies by $210 billion.
- 3 million more people will be uninsured. Individuals and employers will pay $5 billion more in penalties for failing to obtain or provide coverage.
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