On March 13, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its cost estimate of the American Health Care Act – the Republican plan to replace and repeal the ACA. It’s expected the legislation would reduce federal deficits by $337 billion between 2017 and 2026, with the largest savings coming from reductions in Medicaid spending and elimination of ACA premium subsidies. These changes, however, would increase by 24 million, the number of uninsured people by 2026, for a total uninsured population of 52 million.
On Thursday, March 16, the House Budget Committee voted 19-17 to advance the legislation. The Committee made no changes to the bill, but did recommend amendments for the Rules Committee to consider. House Speaker Paul Ryan plans to schedule a full floor vote this week.
It is likely the legislation will be revised going forward. NJBIA will closely monitor the various changes and will provide detailed updates as additional information becomes available.
The CBO Cost Estimate can be found here.
