Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Obamacare Repeal Has Hefty Price Tag -- $350 Billion Over Ten Years, Study Finds
Repealing ObamaCare would increase the budget deficit by $350 billion over 10 years, according to a new study. The analysis from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) finds that repealing the law鈥檚 spending on providing coverage would save $1.55 trillion, but that would be canceled out by repealing $800 billion in tax increases and $1.1 trillion in Medicare and other cuts. The CRFB warned that Republicans should be trying to reduce the debt, not increase it, and that they also will need savings in order to pay for a replacement for the Affordable Care Act (ACA). (Sullivan, 1/4)
Congressional Republicans have begun the process of repealing the Affordable Care Act, which will not only force them to come up with a plan to replace the program, but as an analysis released by the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget demonstrates, to fill a hole in the federal budget of as much as $350 billion through 2027. (Garver, 1/4)
Meanwhile, the budget resolution advanced by Senate Republicans to advance the repeal effort claims its first victory while the new interim chair of the House Budget Committee outlines a way to offset some of the associated costs -
Senators took the first crack at ripping apart President Barack Obama's signature health care law Wednesday, mustering the votes to proceed to a budget resolution that sets the gears in motion for repeal. It was a significant victory for Republicans, who have voted more than 60 times in the House to dismantle all or part of the law but until now have lacked the power to accomplish their goal. Though the Senate merely took a procedural vote to advance a stripped-down fiscal 2017 budget resolution (S Con Res 3), the 51-48 vote to advance the measure was an major step forward on a spending blueprint needed to unlock a Democrat-proof path for killing the law (PL 111-148, PL 111-152). If passed by both chambers, it would greenlight separate repeal legislation for President-elect Donald Trump to sign when he assumes office. (Mejdrich and Shutt, 1/4)
Diane Black, the new interim chairwoman of the House Budget Committee, said Wednesday that she likes the concept of two reserve funds in the pared-down fiscal 2017 budget resolution that would allow savings from repeal of the health care law to be used to offset the cost of replacement legislation. 鈥淭hat will give us an opportunity when we come up with a reform to use those dollars for the reform,鈥 the Tennessee Republican told CQ. Black added that 鈥減otentially there may be also some money that鈥檚 there for deficit reduction as well.鈥 (Krawzak, 1/4)
