Report: Budget impact of health law defunding unclear

A new analysis by the Congressional Budget Office and Joint Committee on Taxation found the actual impact of GOP proposals to defund the health law "unclear" because too many variables are involved in the calculation.

Modern Healthcare: Even Defunding Might Not Stop Reform Law, Analysis Finds
The budget impact of a permanent ban on future appropriations for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is unclear but it would not necessarily end government implementation of the law, according to a new Congressional Budget Office and Joint Committee on Taxation analysis. The analysis of Republican defunding plans, requested by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), concluded there are too many uncertainties to ascertain the impact of a full repeal of the law on net government spending (Daly, 5/26).

The Hill: CBO Defunding Health Care Law Could End Drug Benefits
Permanently defunding the healthcare reform law could lead to the end of Medicare coverage for prescription drugs, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Although the Medicare drug benefit predates healthcare reform, the new law made changes to the program — most notably eliminating the so-called "doughnut hole," in which seniors must pay for their drugs out of pocket (Baker, 5/26).