CBO: Supreme Court health care ruling could save $84 billion over 11 years
The Congressional Budget Office found that the Supreme Court ruling on President Obama’s health care law could save the government $84 billion over the next 11 years.
Obamacare supporters, (L-R) Kailash Sundaran of Cupertino, California, Devyn Greenberg of New York City, and Devontae Freeland of Metuchen, New Jersey celebrate as they respond to the Supreme Court ruling on the Affordable Health Act June 28, 2012 in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, DC.
The Congressional Budget Office released a report on Tuesday, which showed that the Supreme Court health care ruling will save the government around $84 billion over the next 11 years, Reuters reported.
The Supreme Court chose to uphold most of the Affordable Care Act which was backed by President Barack Obama, but it did not uphold a portion of the law which would have penalized states for not expanding their Medicaid coverage. Most of the savings will come from states limiting their expansion of Medicaid, Reuters noted.
However, that decision means that while people who earn 100 percent to 138 percent of the federal poverty level will be eligible for government subsidies, those earning less than the full poverty level could be left uncovered, according to The Washington Post.
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The CBO's forecast said the court ruling will cut state Medicaid by around 6 million people, while increasing insurance enrollment by 3 million. That would leave around 3 million people without any form of health insurance, said The Post.
"The federal government will subsidize coverage for most people buying insurance through the exchanges, and the per-person cost to the federal government will be higher than if they were in Medicaid," said The New York Times.
The CBO estimated that the total cost of coverage expansion would be $1.168 trillion, compared to the original estimate of $1.252 trillion.
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According to CBS, the CBO said a repeal of the law would increase the federal budget deficit by an estimated $109 billion between 2013 and 2022. The Repeal of Obamacare Act was passed by the Republican-controlled House on July 11, but is unlikely to pass the Democratic-controlled Senate.
The Times noted that the House has voted more than 30 times to repeal all or part of the law, or to cut off funding for it.
In March 2010, when the CBO analyzed the numbers for the health care legislation, it said the law would reduce deficits by a total of $124 billion in the first decade. Republicans, however, assert that the true costs of the health care law will not show up until later, said The Times.