The Latest CBO Score Of The Better Care Reconciliation Act Leaves 22 Million Uninsured by 2026 (Update)

July 21 Update. The July 21, 2017 Congressional Budget Office report did not score the Cruz amendment to the BCRA. The Cruz amendment would allow insurers to sell plans that would not be required to comply with a number of ACA requirements—including guaranteed issue, community rating, preexisting condition coverage, and the essential health benefits—as long as the insurers sold plans that complied with the ACA. It is reported that the CBO would have to take some time to produce a score, in part no doubt because the ACA non-compliant coverage permitted by the Cruz amendment might not qualify as health insurance coverage under CBO definitions. On July 21, 2017, however, Senators Lee (R-UT) and Johnson (R-WI) circulated to their colleagues a Dear Colleague letter to which they attached an analysis of the Cruz amendment apparently done by the Department of Health and Human Services. (The letter also attaches an analysis of premiums under the ACA done by McKinsey but does not claim that McKinsey is responsible for the Cruz amendment analysis.) The analysis is remarkable because it shows enrollment growing and premiums falling—even for ACA-compliant plans—under the Cruz amendment. A wide range of observers, including insurers, actuaries, insurance regulators, and consumers have criticized the Cruz amendment as unworkable. Much of the methodology on which the HHS analysis is based is proprietary and was not disclosed, so it is difficult to verify. The analysis has ...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - Category: Health Management Authors: Tags: Following the ACA Insurance and Coverage ACA repeal and replace BCRA Source Type: blogs