CBO: 18M Could Lose Insurance, Premiums Would Spike If Health Law Is Gutted
Republicans dismissed the report, but Democrats seized on the dire numbers to drive home their messaging on saving the health law.
Los Angeles Times:
Repealing Obamacare Without Replacement Would Hike Premiums 20% And Leave 18 Million Uninsured, Report Says
Repealing Obamacare without a replacement would result in higher costs for consumers and fewer people with insurance coverage, according to a report Tuesday from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. In the first year, insurance premiums would jump by 20% to 25% for individual policies purchased directly or through the Obamacare marketplace, according to the report. The number of people who are uninsured would increase by 18 million. Those numbers would only increase in subsequent years. Premium prices would continue to climb by 50% the next year, with the uninsured swelling to 27 million, as full repeal took effect, the report said. (Mascaro, 1/17)
KQED News:
18 Million People Could Lose Insurance In First Year After Partial Obamacare Repeal
The CBO based its estimates on a bill passed by Republicans and vetoed by President Obama in 2015. That bill amounted to a partial repeal of the Affordable Care Act, also called Obamacare, eliminating the penalty for people who didn’t have health insurance. It also cut out the government subsidies that currently help people pay their premiums. (Hersher, 1/18)