Fix Health Care Policy

12 Days of Obamacare Surprises: A 50/50 Split on Enrollment Estimates

Not all surprises are good. When it comes to Obamacare, the original projections are turning into unfortunately different realities. For the next seven days, Heritage is going to highlight one of the various changes in Obamacare projections (e.g., cost, enrollment, etc.) from when the law first passed until now.

Obamacare expands Medicaid eligibility to able-bodied, childless adults earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL).

In the March 2012 baseline, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projected that by 2022, Obamacare would enroll 17 million additional Americans into Medicaid.

In a July 2012 update, the CBO incorporated the Supreme Court decision that made Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion optional for states. Now that states have a choice in the matter, the CBO decreased its Medicaid enrollment projection by 6 million people in 2022.

Surprise: Without explaining their methodology, the CBO projected that exactly half of those no longer projected to be on Medicaid would become uninsured and that the other half would enroll in the exchanges. CBO’s rationale is about as clear as eggnog.

12 Days of Obamacare Surprises:

5. More uninsured Americans…

4. Increased exchange subsidies…

3. Big tax increases…

2. The small business tax credit…

1. And the individual mandate.

Tags: exchange subsidies, Individual Mandate, Medicaid eligibility, ObamaCare, small business tax credit, surprises

12 Days of Obamacare Surprises: Uninsured Americans

Not all surprises are good. When it comes to Obamacare, the original projections are turning into unfortunately different realities. For the next 8 days, Heritage is going to highlight one of the various changes in Obamacare projections (e.g., cost, enrollment, etc.) from when the law first passed until now.

One of Obamacare’s primary goals was to dramatically reduce the number of uninsured. To achieve this, Obamacare depends on a Medicaid expansion, new government subsidies funneled through exchanges, and an individual mandate to get people covered.

In 2010, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projected that Obamacare would insure 32 million non-elderly people by 2019, leaving 23 million non-elderly Americans uninsured.

In 2012, the CBO updated its projection to show that Obamacare would provide coverage for 36 million people through Medicaid and subsidized coverage in the government-run exchanges, leaving 30 million Americans uninsured in 2022.

Read the rest on The Foundry…

Tags: CBO, government-run exchange, Medicaid, ObamaCare, subsidized coverage, surprises, uninsured Americans

12 Days of Obamacare Surprises: Exchange Subsidies

Photo: Dominique Bruneton/Altopress/Newscom

Not all surprises are good. When it comes to Obamacare, the original projections are turning into unfortunately different realities. For the next 9 days, Heritage is going to highlight one of the various changes in Obamacare projections (i.e. cost, enrollment, etc.) from when the law first passed until now.

The federal government will provide subsidies to offset the cost of coverage in Obamacare’s new exchanges for those with incomes between 100 percent and 400 percent of the federal poverty level.

In 2010, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projected that exchange subsidies would average $6,000 per enrollee in 2019, for a total cost of $113 billion.

In 2012, the CBO updated its projection for an average subsidy cost of $6,470 per enrollee in 2019. The total cost of subsidies and related spending is now projected to be $137 billion in 2019.

Surprise: With premiums higher than initially anticipated, the average subsidy is now projected to cost $470 more per person in 2019 alone. This increase in projections of about 8 percent is an indication that both health care premiums and the cost of Obamacare will continue to rise faster than reindeer take flight!

Read the rest on The Foundry…

Tags: exchanges, federal poverty level, ObamaCare, subsidies, surprises, uninsured

12 Days of Obamacare Surprises: Taxes

Photo: Jamie Grill Photography Tetra Images/Newscom

Not all surprises are good. When it comes to Obamacare, the original projections are turning into unfortunately different realities. For the next 10 days, Heritage is going to highlight one of the various changes in Obamacare projections (i.e. cost, enrollment, etc.) from when the law first passed until now.

To pay for massive new spending provisions, Obamacare includes 18 new or increased taxes, fees, and penalties.

Read the rest on The Foundry…

Tags: fees, higher costs, new spending provisions, ObamaCare, penalties, surprises, taxes

12 Days of Obamacare Surprises: Small Business Tax Credit

Photo: Mike Kemp/Tetra Images/Newscom

Not all surprises are good. When it comes to Obamacare, the original projections are turning into unfortunately different realities. For the next 11 days, Heritage is going to highlight one of the various changes in Obamacare projections (i.e. cost, enrollment, etc.) from when the law first passed until now.

The Small Employer Health Insurance Tax Credit was intended to encourage employers to offer health insurance to their employees by partially offsetting the cost.

In 2010, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that the Small Employer Tax Credit would cost the federal government $37 billion over 10 years.

In 2012, the CBO updated its estimate, projecting the credit would cost $23 billion over 10 years.

Read the rest on The Foundry…

Tags: CBO, higher costs, ObamaCare, small business, surprises, tax credit

12 Days of Obamacare Surprises: The Individual Mandate

Photo: Garry Gay/Stock Connection Worldwide/Newscom

Not all surprises are good. When it comes to Obamacare, the original projections are turning into unfortunately different realities. For the next 12 days, Heritage is going to highlight one of the various changes in Obamacare projections (i.e. cost, enrollment, etc.) from when the law first passed until now.

One of the most infamous features of Obamacare is the individual mandate, which requires most Americans to purchase health insurance or pay a tax for being uninsured.

In 2010, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) estimated that 4 million people would pay the penalty in 2016 and that collections from those penalties would be about $4 billion per year between 2017 and 2019.

In 2012, the CBO and JCT updated their estimate of those paying the mandate to 6 million people in 2016, totaling $7 billion in tax revenue and growing to $8 billion per year from 2017-2022.

Read the rest on The Foundry…

Tags: Individual Mandate, ObamaCare, penalties, surprises, tax, uninsured