Obamacare’s Cost Is Down 8%, but That May Not Be Good News

But so is access to doctors and hospitals in the plans offered on the health insurance exchanges.

A Congressional Budget Office report estimates lower federal spending (see the figure). The reason: Health plans in the exchanges look more like Medicaid than like employer-based coverage. Jason Millman reports:

The CBO report points out that it previously thought Obamacare’s exchange plans would look more like employer-based coverage, but that hasn’t turned out to be the case so far — hence, the cheaper premiums. “The plans being offered through the exchanges this year appear to have, in general, lower payment rates for providers, narrower networks of providers, and tighter management of their subscribers’ use of health care than employment-based plans,” CBO wrote.

The CBO projects 42 million people will remain uninsured this year. In fact, the ACA will never cover more than 45% of the uninsured.

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For the pivotal alternative to Obamacare, please see the Independent Institute’s widely acclaimed book: Priceless: Curing the Healthcare Crisis, by John C. Goodman.

[Cross-posted at Psychology Today and John Goodman’s Health Policy Blog]