CBO Projects Graham-Cassidy Would Reduce Spending And Coverage

Late in the day on September 25, 2017, the Congressional Budget Office and Joint Committee on Taxation staff released their report on the Graham-Cassidy bill. Their analysis was apparently of an earlier version of the bill than the one released on September 24, 2017, but the provisions described and analyzed in the CBO report are virtually the same. The CBO found that the Graham-Cassidy meets Senate budget reconciliation rules. It would reduce the deficit over ten years by at least $133 billion, the amount that the CBO concluded that the House American Health Care Act would reduce the deficit; each title of the bill would result in at least $1 billion in deficit reduction; and the bill would not increase the deficit in the four ten-year periods beyond the ten-year budget window. On the other hand, the CBO stated that, although it did not have time to come up with point estimates (which would take several weeks), “millions” would lose coverage under the bill. Sources Of Coverage Losses Coverage losses would be attributable to three main causes. First, large reductions in Medicaid funding would reduce Medicaid enrollment. Second, reduction in subsidies for the individual market would reduce enrollment in that market. Third, enrollment in all markets would be lower because of the repeal of the individual responsibility requirement. These losses would be only partially offset by new programs established through the block grants and higher enrollment in employer-sponsored cove...
Source: Health Affairs Blog - Category: Health Management Authors: Tags: Costs and Spending Following the ACA Insurance and Coverage Medicaid and CHIP Source Type: blogs