CBO: Senate Health Care Bill Would Leave 22M More Americans Uninsured

By Susan Rupe

The Senate's proposal to repeal the Affordable Care Act would leave 22 million more Americans uninsured over the next 10 years. That's according to a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis of the bill released Monday afternoon.

That 22 million figure is only slightly less than the 23 million that the CBO predicted would lose coverage under a House-passed version of the repeal bill.

The Senate bill also would cut the federal deficit by $321 billion over 10 years, the CBO reported. That $321 billion cut would be driven by deep reductions to Medicaid and smaller subsidies given to help people buy insurance. Those savings exceed the $133 billion bar set by the House bill, meeting one of the requirements for Republicans to pass the Senate bill through an expedited process requiring just 51 votes.

In their newest effort to get votes for their health care reform measure, Senate Republicans released revisions to the bill Monday.

The biggest change is a provision that would encourage people to remain enrolled in coverage instead of signing up in advance of needing care and then dropping the coverage afterward. The enrollment incentive would be in place of the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate, which the Senate bill would eliminate.

Instead of imposing an individual mandate to maintain coverage, the Senate bill would impose a six-month waiting period before new insurance goes into effect for anyone who had a break in coverage lasting 63 days or longer in the prior year. It would take effect beginning in 2019.

A vote on the bill is planned in the Senate by the end of this week.

Susan Rupe is managing editor for InsuranceNewsNet. She formerly served as communications director for an insurance agents' association and was an award-winning newspaper reporter and editor. Contact her at Susan.Rupe@innfeedback.com.

Susan Rupe is editor in chief, magazine, for InsuranceNewsNet. She formerly served as communications director for an insurance agents' association and was an award-winning newspaper reporter and editor. Contact her at susan.rupe@innfeedback.com.