August 16, 2017

Statement on CBO Score on Elimination of Cost-Sharing Reductions

Yesterday’s Congressional Budget Office score indicates that stopping cost-sharing reductions (CSRs) would cause insurance premiums to soar by 20 percent next year, and 25 percent by 2020 and thereafter, while adding $194 billion to the federal deficit over the next decade. This runs counter to the idea of making health insurance and care more affordable for millions of low-income Americans and controlling costs across the U.S. health care system.

The Administration, which has threatened to cease paying CSRs, has wrongly categorized these payments as a ‘bailout’ for insurance companies. The payments help low- and moderate-income residents afford out-of-pocket health care expenses, such as deductibles and co-payments.

There are 1.2 million Floridians whose insurance is subsidized through the marketplace, more than any other state. Clearly, the Sunshine State would take the biggest hit if the Administration discontinues these payments. Such an action would expose struggling Florida families to exorbitantly higher out-of-pocket medical costs, substantially reducing their available resources for making ends meet.

The focus should instead be on stabilizing the marketplace and building on the important gains made under the Affordable Care Act.

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