Democrats unveiled a health overhaul reconciliation bill the Congressional Budget Office says will cost $940 billion but also cut the deficit by $138 billion over the next 10 years.
The New York Times: The release of the CBO estimates started a 72-hour countdown for a Sunday vote. House Democratic leaders promised members the time to read the bill. "The legislation's chances seemed to be improved by the budget office report … with additional tax revenue and Medicare savings. … Under the bill, the budget office said, the federal government would spend $940 billion over the next 10 years to provide coverage to 32 million people who would otherwise be uninsured. The price tag, though higher than $875 billion cost of the Senate bill, is lower than the limit of $950 billion suggested by Mr. Obama" (Pear and Herszenhorn, 3/18).
The Washington Post: "House Democratic leaders hope to approve the Senate bill along with a separate 153-page package of revisions to that bill that House members are demanding. … All Americans would be required for the first time to obtain insurance or face an annual penalty of $695 [in 2016]; [some] employers could face penalties of $2,000 per worker for not offering affordable coverage." Insurers would also be barred from denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions and would be required to allow adult children to stay on their parents' plans until age 26 (Montgomery and Kane, 3/19).
The Wall Street Journal: "The CBO numbers reflect the combined cost of two pieces of legislation. First is the version of the health overhaul passed through the Senate on Christmas Eve. Second is a package of changes released Thursday. The cost includes $466 billion to give tax credits to help lower earners buy insurance, $434 billion to expand the Medicaid federal-state insurance program for the poor and $40 billion in tax credits to help small businesses offer coverage." The bill — in the second decade after the bill's enactment — would save even more money, the CBO said, though it "declined to give a dollar figure..."
Under the bill, a family of four with an annual income of up to $88,000 would be eligible for subsidies to buy insurance. "And Democrats increased funding for seniors on Medicare whose prescription drugs fall in a coverage gap known as the doughnut hole..." To pay for the changes, Democrats are proposing increasing taxes on drug makers and insurance companies and expanding Medicare taxes for some wealthy Americans (Adamy, 3/19).