CBO: Premiums would jump 20 percent next year if Trump cuts off Obamacare funds
(Worthy News) – Obamacare’s gross premiums would rise by an average of 20 percent next year and 25 percent by 2020 if President Trump cuts off payments to insurers, according to an analysis released Tuesday by the Congressional Budget Office.
The number of people who are uninsured would increase next year by 1 million, as insurers leave the exchanges, but then beginning in 2020 the number would be about 1 million lower than under current law because more people would qualify for another kind of federal subsidy, which pays for premiums, and would therefore be more likely to buy coverage, said the analysis by the CBO and Joint Committee on Taxation.
Trump has said he would consider cutting off the payments, called cost-sharing reduction subsidies, as a way to bring Democrats and Republicans together to negotiate a healthcare deal. After failing to pass a bill that would repeal and replace portions of Obamacare, a handful of senators said they believed the funds should be appropriated through Congress and that they should move to do so when they return from their August recess. [ Source (Read More…) ]