CMS estimates 13 million more would become uninsured under AHCA, fewer than in CBO estimate
The CBO estimated that 23 million more would become uninsured if the bill were to become law.
A new report from the Office of the Chief Actuary of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services says that there will be 13 million more Americans without health insurance by 2026 if the GOP-backed American Health Care Act becomes law.
That's about 10 million fewer people than is estimated under the recent report from the Congressional Budget Office, which estimated that 23 million more would become uninsured if the bill were to become law.
Put another way, both CMS and the CBO predicted about 28 million people would be uninsured by 2026 if the Affordable Care Act remained the law of the land. But CMS said 41 million would be uninsured by that year if the AHCA supplants it, compared to 51 million under the CBO estimate.
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The Republican-sponsored bill, passed by the House and currently being mulled by the Senate, would essentially eliminate the ACA's individual mandate, which stipulates that most people buy some form of health insurance or face a fine. The AHCA would also slash government spending on subsidies for Medicaid and insurance plans.
Because of that, CMS projected that average gross premiums in the individual insurance plan market would be 13 percent lower by 2026 than it would be under current law. However, average net premiums would be 5 percent higher, and average out-of-pocket spending for customers would be about 61 percent higher.
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Overall, direct out-of-pocket spending would be almost $221 billion under the AHCA, according to the report. CMS said that increase would likely be offset by lower spending "because of declines in employer-sponsored coverage, a reduction in the additional Medicare tax for high-income earners, and the effect of the elimination of the health insurance tax on premiums."
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump told GOP senators that the House version of the AHCA was "mean," and that they should strive to make it more generous.
Twitter: @JELagasse
