11.04.09
“Tonight CBO confirmed that the Republicans’ only solution for health reform is to preserve the status quo,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. “It will leave 52 million Americans literally out in the cold, does nothing to help low-income and middle-class families afford quality health care, and protects insurance companies’ power to deny claims and stand between patients and their doctors.”
“Their bill fundamentally fails to repair our broken health care system. Under this proposal, Americans will continue to lose coverage if they have a pre-existing condition or lose their job, seniors will continue to suffer from the donut hole, and millions of Americans will file medical bankruptcy due to illness. This legislation may be a nice giveaway to insurance companies, but it is not the comprehensive reform American needs to cover the tens of millions of uninsured and reduce the hidden costs all Americans pay to cover them.”
According to CBO’s analysis:
• Only 3 million people would gain coverage, “roughly in line with the current share”. “By 2019, CBO By 2019, the number of nonelderly people without health insurance would be reduced by about 3 million relative to current law, leaving about 52 million nonelderly residents uninsured. The share of legal nonelderly residents with insurance coverage in 2019 would be about 83 percent, roughly in line with the current share.” [p. 3]
• Would not lower premiums for most consumers. “And in the large group market, which represents nearly 80 percent of total private premiums, the amendment would lower average insurance premiums in 2016 by zero to 3 percent compared with amounts under current law, according to CBO’s estimates.” [p. 5]
• Premiums could increase for older consumers. “For example, states that loosened rating rules in the market for individually purchased insurance to allow premiums to vary more on the basis of age would cause premiums for older people to increase and premiums for younger people to decrease.” [p.7]
To view the CBO letter, click here.
CBO Confirms Republican Health Care Bill Would Maintain the Status Quo
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Fifty-two million people would continue to go uninsured if the House Republican health care legislation was enacted, the Congressional Budget Office said tonight. Overall, CBO estimates that the bill would only reduce the number of uninsured by 3 million and would cover 83 percent of Americans by 2019 – about the same as what would happen under the status quo. In contrast, the House Democratic health insurance reform bill would cover 96 percent of Americans by 2019 and provide an additional 36 million people with access to quality, affordable health care.“Tonight CBO confirmed that the Republicans’ only solution for health reform is to preserve the status quo,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. “It will leave 52 million Americans literally out in the cold, does nothing to help low-income and middle-class families afford quality health care, and protects insurance companies’ power to deny claims and stand between patients and their doctors.”
“Their bill fundamentally fails to repair our broken health care system. Under this proposal, Americans will continue to lose coverage if they have a pre-existing condition or lose their job, seniors will continue to suffer from the donut hole, and millions of Americans will file medical bankruptcy due to illness. This legislation may be a nice giveaway to insurance companies, but it is not the comprehensive reform American needs to cover the tens of millions of uninsured and reduce the hidden costs all Americans pay to cover them.”
According to CBO’s analysis:
• Only 3 million people would gain coverage, “roughly in line with the current share”. “By 2019, CBO By 2019, the number of nonelderly people without health insurance would be reduced by about 3 million relative to current law, leaving about 52 million nonelderly residents uninsured. The share of legal nonelderly residents with insurance coverage in 2019 would be about 83 percent, roughly in line with the current share.” [p. 3]
• Would not lower premiums for most consumers. “And in the large group market, which represents nearly 80 percent of total private premiums, the amendment would lower average insurance premiums in 2016 by zero to 3 percent compared with amounts under current law, according to CBO’s estimates.” [p. 5]
• Premiums could increase for older consumers. “For example, states that loosened rating rules in the market for individually purchased insurance to allow premiums to vary more on the basis of age would cause premiums for older people to increase and premiums for younger people to decrease.” [p.7]
To view the CBO letter, click here.
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