Bipartisan Obamacare Bill Saves Little Money on Technicality
- Scorekeeper CBO issues report on Alexander-Murray legislation
- Funding CSRs doesn’t have a cost, because already included
Why the Bipartisan Health-Care Deal May Be in Jeopardy
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Congress’s non-partisan scorekeeper didn’t find any big savings for the U.S government in a Senate bill designed to stabilize Obamacare, but the reason for that is a technicality.
The bipartisan legislation, from Republican Senator Lamar Alexander and Democrat Patty Murray, would explicitly fund the Affordable Care Act’s cost-sharing reduction payments through 2019, while offering more flexibility for states to set up their own insurance markets. This month President Donald Trump halted the payments -- which reimburse health insurers for offering reduced co-pays and deductibles to lower-income customers -- amid a dispute over their legality.