CBO estimates repeal of Affordable Care Act would increase spending by $109 billion | Orthopedics

CBO estimates repeal of Affordable Care Act would increase spending by $109 billion | Orthopedics

CBO estimates repeal of Affordable Care Act would increase spending by $109 billion

• July 26, 2012

Two analyses from the Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation released in light of the recent Supreme Court decision to strike down the state-mandated Medicaid expansion provision in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act estimate the act will save $84 billion over the next decade, while repealing the act under recently passed legislation would increase federal spending by $109 billion.

Insurance provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) have reduced spending from a projected $1,252 billion in March down to $1,168 billion, the report stated.

H.R. 6079 passed by the House of Representatives on July 11, would increase the net deficit of the federal budget by $109 billion, according to an open letter to current Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner.

The decrease in federal spending is attributed to lower than expected Medicaid enrollment resulting from new requirements outlined in the Supreme Court PPACA decision. The Court struck down a provision requiring that states expand eligibility for Medicaid to qualify for continued federal funds in any part of their Medicaid program.

Since every state is no longer required to expand Medicaid, the budget office estimates that, in 2022, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program will cover 6 million fewer people; 3 million people will shift to private health exchanges and 3 million will remain uninsured, according to the the report. Of the people who were covered under the new Medicaid requirements in states not expected to expand the programs, nearly two-thirds will have income considered too high to qualify for private exchange subsidies, while one-third will have income high enough for the subsidies.

“In addition, those who become eligible for subsidies will have to pay a portion of the exchange premium themselves, which will affect their decisions about whether to enroll in the exchange,” the report stated.