WASHINGTON, DC (June 26, 2017): The Council for Affordable Health Coverage (CAHC) – a coalition of employers, insurers, brokers, agents, patient groups, and physician organizations – responded today to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) score of the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017.
CAHC Executive Director Katie Allen released the following statement:
“We are surprised by the new CBO estimates, particularly the outsized impact of repealing the individual mandate,” said CAHC Executive Director Katie Allen. “We believe the individual mandate has been less effective at encouraging younger, healthier people to enroll in ACA plans.”
Allen continued, “CAHC has estimated that the additional, front-loaded premium stabilization funding in the Senate-proposed health bill would help roll back the premium spikes forecast for 2018 and 2019, compared with the House-passed bill. We predict that this dedicated reinsurance funding in the draft Senate reconciliation bill would help offset the changes in individual market risk pools associated with repeal of the individual mandate. We are also encouraged by the inclusion of new continuous coverage provisions in the latest draft of the Senate bill.”
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Background:
CAHC White Paper: “Impact of Stabilization Funding on ACA Premiums and Subsidies”
CBO estimates that, under the Better Care Reconciliation Act, premiums would increase in plan years 2018 and 2019 before eventually decreasing over the long term, writing: “Average premiums for benchmark plans for single individuals would be about 20 percent higher in 2018 than under current law, mainly because the penalty for not having insurance would be eliminated, inducing fewer comparatively healthy people to sign up. Those premiums would be about 10 percent higher than under current law in 2019.”
CBO’s score of the earlier, House-passed ACA repeal and replacement legislation held similar findings.
CAHC’s analysis of the BCRA finds that the front-loaded stabilization funding in the bill would roll back the premium increases originally seen under the House-passed bill, and extending coverage to more consumers.
The Council for Affordable Health Coverage (CAHC) is a broad-based alliance focused on bringing down the cost of health care for all Americans. Learn more at CAHC.net.