Washington D.C. — A new analysis from the Center for American Progress shows that a typical middle-class family buying insurance on their own would see premiums increase by $1,990 in 2019 under the Senate Republican tax bill. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), repeal of the coverage mandate would drive premiums 10 percent higher over the next decade. CAP predicts that families would be hit hardest in states with higher premium levels: For example, premiums would increase $2,900 in Alaska, $2,350 in Maine, and $2,060 in Arizona.
The CBO estimates that 13 million fewer Americans would have health care coverage by 2025 under the mandate repeal included in the Senate tax plan. Additionally, as a result of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act, the bill must be offset by cuts to mandatory programs such as Medicare, resulting in a $25 billion dollar cut to the program next year alone and hundreds of billions of dollars in additional Medicare cuts over the next decade.
“This bill has turned into a vehicle for health care repeal and will only make life harder for many middle-class Americans by increasing their premiums. Families in states like Alaska, Maine, and Arizona stand to pay some of the highest prices,” said Emily Gee, health economist at CAP.
“The majority’s plan is clear: take away your health care to pay for their tax cuts. Congress should be looking to improve our health care system, not drive up costs for middle-class families and cut billions from Medicare. Congress needs to start listening to the American people, not wealthy donors,” said Sam Berger, the senior policy adviser at CAP.
Repealing the individual mandate, which currently helps ensure that healthy people stay in the market in order to keep prices low, would lead to higher premiums in the individual insurance market as only those who needed care would purchase it. Middle-class families who do not qualify for tax credits to reduce their premiums would be hit hardest by this cost increase.
Click to read “The Senate Tax Bill Threatens Access to Care” by Emily Gee and Sam Berger.
For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Devon Kearns at [email protected] or 202.741.6290.