Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Revises Affordable Care Act (ACA) Taxpayer Costs Down Yet Again

Slowing health care costs are driving down the price tag of President Barack Obama’s health overhaul, just as the Supreme Court is weighing whether to strike a key part of the law. Estimates released reduce the projected cost to taxpayers by $142 billion over the next decade. That’s an 11 percent drop from previous estimates. The nonpartisan CBO cited two reasons for the decline: Health insurance premiums are rising slower than projected, and new data show there were fewer people without health insurance before the law. Fewer people without insurance means slightly fewer people will need to take advantage of the law to gain coverage, CBO said. Still, over the next decade, the budget office said 24 million to 25 million people a year will get coverage because of the law. White House spokesman Josh Earnest called the projections the “latest in a long line of data points” showing that Obama’s health law was holding down health costs and generating economic benefits for families and businesses. He said one of the goals of the legislation was to address the threat that growing health costs pose to the broader economy.

Source/more: Associated Press

David Wingate is an elder law attorney practicing in Frederick and Montgomery Counties. David Wingate’s practice includes wills, powers of attorneys, trusts, asset protection and Medical assistance (Medicaid).