Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Repealing Individual Mandate Would Do Less To Chip Away At Deficit Than CBO First Projected
Reuters: Repeal Of Individual Mandate Would Increase Uninsured, Premiums: CBO
The Congressional Budget Office said on Wednesday that repealing the Obamacare individual mandate would increase the number of uninsured by 13 million by 2027 and reduce the federal budget deficit less than initially forecast. The CBO, the nonpartisan budget-scoring agency, said that eliminating the Obamacare mandate that all Americans purchase health insurance or else pay a fine would lower the deficit by $338 billion over the next decade, not $416 billion as it estimated in December. (Brice and Abutaleb, 11/8)
The Hill: Repealing ObamaCare Mandate Means Millions Fewer Insured: CBO
Getting rid of the individual mandate means fewer people with health insurance. That means fewer subsidies the government will pay to help people afford their ObamaCare health plans, and thus, savings. Premiums in the individual insurance market would increase by about 10 percent in most years of the decade, CBO concluded, because repealing the mandate means less healthy people will buy insurance. That would leave sicker, older people to share the costs in the market, resulting in higher premiums. (Roubein and Hellmann, 11/8)
Politico: CBO: Obamacare Mandate Repeal Would Cut Deficit By $338 Billion
The new analysis finds that repealing the mandate would not have as big of an impact as the estimates CBO made nearly a year ago. A December 2016 CBO analysis found that undoing the mandate would reduce the budget deficit by $416 billion over nearly a decade and result in 15 million more uninsured Americans in 2026 than under current law. (Haberkorn, 11/8)
NPR: CBO: Repealing Health Coverage Mandate Would Save $338 Billion
House Republicans are toying with the idea of repealing the so-called individual mandate — a key part of the Affordable Care Act — as part of their plan to overhaul the tax code. Including the provision could be a win-win for Republicans. The move would allow them to offset more of the tax cuts they want in their tax plan and give them the chance to claim they repealed one of the most hated parts of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. (Kodjak, 11/8)
Modern Healthcare: CBO: Axing ACA Mandate Would Give GOP $338 Billion More For Tax Cuts
If Republicans repeal the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate as part of their tax cut bill, that would give them $338 billion in cost savings over 10 years to soften the bill's rollback of popular tax breaks like the mortgage interest deduction, according to a Congressional Budget Office report released Wednesday. There would be 13 million fewer people with health insurance in 2027 due to repealing the mandate, and average premiums in the individual market would be 10% higher than if the mandate were preserved. (Meyer, 11/8)
Bloomberg: Repealing Obamacare Mandate Would Save $338 Billion, CBO Says
Rolling back Obamacare’s requirement that all Americans have health insurance would save the U.S. $338 billion over 10 years, according to the Congressional Budget Office, a smaller benefit than previously projected for a plan favored by the White House. Republicans are considering repealing the coverage rule in the Affordable Care Act as a way to pay for far-reaching changes in the tax code. The savings would come from the government spending less to subsidize Obamacare plans as more people opt to forgo health coverage. (Edney, 11/8)
CQ: CBO Projects Fewer Savings From Repealing Health Law's Mandate
Repealing the requirement that most Americans purchase health insurance coverage would reduce the federal deficit by $338 billion over a decade, an analysis by nonpartisan analysts expected later Wednesday will show. The Congressional Budget Office is set to publish an updated estimate of the effects of repealing the individual mandate included in the 2010 health care law (PL 111-148, PL 111-152). Republicans are considering including a repeal in tax legislation (HR 1) they hope to clear by the end of the year. (McIntire, 11/8)
