10 ways the AHCA would impact coverage and the federal budget

The Congressional Budget Office and Joint Committee on Taxation last week issued separate analyses of the American Health Care Act. Here are five key findings from each report. CBO (All projections are in comparison to current law):

1. Reduce the federal deficit a cumulative $119 billion by 2026.

2. Result in 14 million fewer people covered in 2018, growing to 23 million by 2026. The total number of uninsured would hit 51 million by 2026.

3. Save $290 billion over 10 years by replacing the Affordable Care Act’s premium and cost-sharing subsidies with less generous age-based premium tax credits, reducing spending from $665 billion to $375 billion.

4. Increase Medicare disproportionate-share payments to hospitals by $43 billion over 10 years due to a jump in uninsured patients.

5. Result in 4 million more people in employer-based health plans by 2026, mainly because employers would see the individual market as a less desirable option for their workers.

The Joint Committee on Taxation found that the bill’s tax provisions would slash federal revenue by $662.6 billion from 2017 through 2026. Here are the five largest areas of revenue reduction:

1. $172.2 billion from repealing the ACA’s 3.8% tax on wealthy people’s investment income.

2. $144.7 billion from repealing the annual fee on health insurance premiums.

3. $125.7 billion from lowering the income percentage threshold from 10% to 5.8% for deducting medical expenses.

4. $66 billion from delaying until 2026 the so-called Cadillac tax on high-value employer health plans. 5. $58.6 billion from repealing the ACA’s additional 0.9% Medicare payroll tax on wealthy people.