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  CBO: Health Care Reform Will Lower Out-Of-Pocket Burden For Most Consumers
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ContributorArmyDem 
Last EditedArmyDem  Nov 30, 2009 07:15pm
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News DateTuesday, December 1, 2009 01:00:00 AM UTC0:0
DescriptionBrian Beutler | November 30, 2009, 12:10PM

A new CBO report, requested by Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) contains some helpful, though not unexpected information about the impact of Senate health care legislation on insurance premiums, particularly in the individual market.

According to CBO, average premiums in the individual market would increase 10 to 13 percent because of provisions in the Senate health care bill, but, crucially, most people (about 57 percent) would actually find themselves paying significantly less money for insurance, thanks to federal subsidies for low- and middle-class consumers, than they would under current law.

Those are two separate findings, but it seems likely that Republicans will use the former finding to attack reform, claiming it will raise people's premiums, and leave people confused about the second finding, which is actually the one that impacts people's pocket books.

The report finds that for the minority of consumers in the individual market who receive no federal assistance, premiums (and therefore out-of-pocket costs) will increase slightly--on the order of 10 percent--which could prove politically difficult in the years after health care reform takes effect.

Separately, for those who have high-end employer-provided insurance, CBO finds that a new excise tax on high-end policies will have disparate effects on premiums. Those who keep their "cadillac" insurance would end up paying higher premiums than they do today, and those who choose instead to choose less luxurious policies would pay lower premiums.
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