The report attributed this potential increase in part to the law’s most expensive features — the Medicaid expansion and the provision of insurance subsidies. You mean the Medicaid expansion that would have been cheaper on the federal government if the Supreme Court hadn’t said the expansion could be decided by states and the one that republican state legislatures are deciding against en masse, conveniently increasing the cost of the law federally? Quelle surprise!
The GAO said Tuesday that the success of these provisions will determine whether the Affordable Care Act affects the deficit for good or ill. Assuming the law is enforced as-is, the U.S. deficit will decline 1.5 percent as a share of the economy over the next 75 years, according to the GAO.
Auditors attributed 1.2 percent of this improvement to the Affordable Care Act. Under a different set of assumptions, the law has the opposite effect over time, the GAO said — the deficit will increase by 0.7 percent of gross domestic product GDP if the laws cost-containment measures are phased out.
The report attributed this potential increase in part to the laws most expensive features — the Medicaid expansion and the provision of insurance subsidies.
The report was requested by Sen. Jeff Sessions Ala., the top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee. On Tuesday, he and his office jumped on the figures to say that the healthcare law will increase the deficit by $6.2 trillion over 75 years. To arrive at this figure, Sessionss office assumed the second scenario, in which the laws cost-containment measures end, and added up 75 years worth of deficits using GDP projections from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
via GAO: Health law will increase deficit if cost-cutting steps stop – The Hills Healthwatch.
