CBO Report: ACA Repeal Will Cost Tens of Millions of Americans Health Insurance, Cause Premiums to Double

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) issued the following statement in response to a report released today by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) stating that a repeal of the Affordable Care Act would cost 32 million Americans their health insurance and force premiums in the individual market to nearly double over the next decade:

"This nonpartisan report is another startling affirmation of the far-reaching and disastrous consequences that a rushed repeal of the Affordable Care Act would have for millions of Americans and tens of thousands of Mainers," Senator King said. "Simply put, this is not a responsible way to govern - and people across Maine are unfairly and needlessly going to pay for the price by having their health insurance ripped away and by having to reach deeper into their pockets for vital health services. I urge my colleagues to put aside politics and focus on instituting meaningful improvements to the Affordable Care Act or, at the very least, to put forward a credible replacement plan before moving to repeal the law."

CBO today released a report on H.R. 3762, legislation passed by Congress in 2015 and vetoed by the President last year that would have repealed parts of the Affordable Care Act. CBO, along with the Joint Committee on Taxation, estimates in the report that the legislation would affect insurance coverage and premiums primarily in two ways:

* The number of people who are uninsured would increase by 18 million in the first new plan year following enactment of the bill. Later, after the elimination of the ACA's expansion of Medicaid eligibility and of subsidies for insurance purchased through the ACA marketplaces, that number would increase to 27 million, and then to 32 million in 2026.

* Premiums in the nongroup market (for individual policies purchased through the marketplaces or directly from insurers) would increase by 20 percent to 25 percent--relative to projections under current law--in the first new plan year following enactment. The increase would reach about 50 percent in the year following the elimination of the Medicaid expansion and the marketplace subsidies, and premiums would about double by 2026.

Senator King opposes the repeal of the ACA, which would strip health care away from tens of millions of Americans, including more than 75,000 in Maine. Last Friday, Senator King convened a conversation with health care experts and providers at Bridgton Hospital where he heard from hospital leadership how a repeal of the health care law would leave a substantial amount of their patients without health insurance, which would have serious, and in some cases, catastrophic, financial ramifications for hospitals.

In his effort to fight the repeal of the law, Senator King has offered five amendments to legislation currently under consideration by the Senate that would preserve critical facets of the ACA. He has also cosponsored an amendment that would stop efforts to dismantle the law, and he joined with several of his centrist colleagues in urging Senate leadership to discuss improvements to the law before rushing to fast-track a repeal of it.

Senator King last week also took to the Senate floor to share his personal story of how having health insurance saved his life and, later on, he once again spoke from the floor to share the stories of people from across Maine who have been helped by the ACA, some in lifesaving ways.

In addition to the points outlined above, the report also specifically says:

"According to CBO and JCT's analysis, upon enactment, H.R. 3762 would reduce the number of people with insurance; and in the first new plan year, premiums in the nongroup market would rise and participation by insurers in that market would decline. Starting in the year following the elimination of the expansion of Medicaid eligibility and the marketplace subsidies, the increase in the number of uninsured people and premiums would be greater, and participation by insurers in the nongroup market would decline further."

"CBO and JCT expect that the number of people without health insurance coverage would increase upon enactment of H.R. 3762 but that the increase would be limited initially, because insurers would have already set their premiums for the current year, and many people would have already made their enrollment decisions for the year. Subsequently, in the first full plan year following enactment, by CBO and JCT's estimates, about 18 million people would become uninsured. That increase in the uninsured population would consist of about 10 million fewer people with coverage obtained in the nongroup market, roughly 5 million fewer people with coverage under Medicaid, and about 3 million fewer people with employment-based coverage."

"However, CBO and JCT also expect that insurers in some areas would leave the nongroup market in the first new plan year following enactment. They would be leaving in anticipation of further reductions in enrollment and higher average health care costs among enrollees who remained after the subsidies for insurance purchased through the marketplaces were eliminated. As a consequence, roughly 10 percent of the population would be living in an area that had no insurer participating in the nongroup market."

"According to CBO and JCT's analysis, premiums in the nongroup market would be roughly 20 percent to 25 percent higher than under current law once insurers incorporated the effects of H.R. 3762's changes into their premium pricing in the first new plan year after enactment."

Read this original document at: http://www.king.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/cbo-report-aca-repeal-will-cost-tens-of-millions-of-americans-health-insurance-cause-premiums-to-double