House Passes Deficit-Reducing Health Bill
The House passed the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act. The bill – one of more than a dozen plans released in recent weeks ahead of the expiration of the enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies at the end of this year – would not extend the subsidies. Instead, the bill includes a number of health care reforms, including funding cost-sharing reduction (CSR) payments, authorizing different small businesses to jointly purchase health insurance for employees, and reforming pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the bill as written would reduce deficits by $36 billion over the next decade.
The following is a statement from Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget:
The past few weeks have demonstrated a wide interest in addressing the high cost of health care in this country. What we have been short on is a conversation on how to pay for plans that come with high federal costs – and in a country as deeply indebted as our own, that’s a major problem.
Whether or not policymakers want to extend the expiring enhanced ACA subsidies or subsidize health care in other ways, their focus should be on lowering overall health care costs and reducing deficits, and any new spending or tax breaks should be at least fully offset.
Unfortunately, most of the plans currently under discussion would increase borrowing, passing the cost of new spending onto the next generation. Encouragingly, the bill passed today in the House would instead reduce deficits by $36 billion a decade.
Importantly, the legislation includes a number of thoughtful health reforms. Most significantly, it would directly fund Cost Sharing Reduction subsidies (CSRs), which would reduce premiums, lower health care costs, rationalize the ACA subsidy schedule, and reduce deficits.
The House bill stands in sharp contrast to the dueling plans that failed in the Senate last week, which would have added modestly to the short-term debt at best and more than $80 billion over the decade at worst.
Regardless of whether or not lawmakers extend the enhanced subsidies – and if they do it should be done with offsets and reforms – Washington’s focus should be on reducing deficits and lowering health care costs.
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For more information, please contact Matt Klucher, Assistant Director for Media Relations, at klucher@crfb.org.
