CBO: Health care repeal would cost $109 billion

CBS

(CBS News) The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office is out with a new estimate of the costs of repealing the Affordable Care Act, the national health care legislation signed into law in 2010. According to the CBO, if Mitt Romney and his fellow Republicans are successful in repealing the law, it would increase the federal budget deficit by an estimated $109 billion between 2013 and 2022.

"Specifically, we estimate that H.R. 6079 would reduce direct spending by $890 billion and reduce revenues by $1 trillion between 2013 and 2022, thus adding $109 billion to federal budget deficits over that period," the CBO and Joint Committee on Taxation said.

H.R. 6079 is the "Repeal of Obamacare Act," which was passed by the GOP-led House on July 11. The vote marked the 33rd time the House has voted to repeal all or part of the law, and the first since the Supreme Court ruled it Constitutional in June.

The CBO also released a new estimate of the cost of the health care law's Medicaid expansion component in light of the Supreme Court's ruling that states have the right to opt out. It estimated the decision would reduce the cost of insurance coverage provisions of the law by $84 billion.

[injuntrouble]

I would rather the healthcare law cost a little more and everyone in the US get covered. It is shameful that a rich country like ours can not provide healthcare to everyone. If South Korea, Japan and Singapore can do it, why not us? Is starting wars and killing people with drones the only thing we can beat the rest of the world at?

The selfish republicans of course don't care if 3 million or even 50 million Americans are without healhcare coverage - they only care about there own skins and their own tax cuts - especially for the rich

Texas is already like a third world country - lots of rich people and many poor without healthcare, homeless, many malnourished and undereducated - Perry is very proud. The only thing he has accomplished is stealing jobs from other states - just like China.

[ounceoflogic]

"The selfish republicans of course don't care if 3 million or even 50 million Americans are without healhcare coverage - they only care about there own skins and their own tax cuts - especially for the rich" --- WOW! That is a revolutionary statement. Where on earth did you come up with these ideas?

[wfw3536]

Why doesn't the CBO tell us that it would cost us 100 billion because of the lost tax revenue of 21 new taxes Obamataxcare will include.

[nygurl1]

If he adds taxes, how can we lose tax revenue? Make sense.

[jimpast60]

This truly is a picture of Washington BS. The so-called "cost" is because the law if full of taxes, and repeal would reduce taxes. How in the world is that a "cost?" But that is the deliberatly misleading way the Washington folk talk to confuse the issue. The real truth is that $890 billion in spending would be cut.

[tsigili]

Malarkey.

[deneicy]

So let Walmart pay for it. I'm sure they want it repealed. The five Walton heirs make $300 billion a year. They can afford it, and they owe us, if "Those People" repeal it. After all, We the People have been subsidizing their impoverished employees' health care, food, etc for decades now.

[deneicy]

Oops, I made a mistake--Walmart makes $400billion annually, not $300 billion. Let them pay for some other things, too.

[jimpast60]

Why shouldn't you pay for it? Count me out of your schemes.

[MurdochSucks]

Why can't the Republicans in Congress work on an amendment to the Constitution that Corporations are not and will not be regarded as people? Polls show around 80% of Americans would support it. That would be a good way for the Republicans to gain some popularity. Instead they are trying to stifle progress and hold the American people hostage for their political agenda of thwarting Obama. I will believe they are sincere when they actually present what exactly they oppose in Obamacare, and what they intend to replace. Until then, it is just a shallow political stunt.

[jimpast60]

"stifle progress" - is that what you call adding trillions more in taxes and government spending? Have you not noticed that wealthy people don't need the US. They can live anywhere. And they ARE leaving the US and moving their jobs overseas, in large part because of attitudes like yours.

[fiddlestickawshucks]

$109 Billion in a ten year period.

The US government gives that much away every year to countries who are our enemies in the form of foreign aid.

We continue to send billions every month to Afghanistan every month is addition to what it costs to support our troops, and a few months ago; Obama signed an agreement that the Us would continue to send them multiple billions (approximately $2 billion) every month until 2024.

That amount alone is more than 25% of what it would cost to repeal Obamacare.

This is not to mention the billions we continue to send to countries like Pakistan every month in addition to what we have to pay per truck to these traitors for every vital supply truck that crosses the border from Pakistan to Afghanistan.

The US is "requested?" to apologize to the Afghan citizens and pay remuneration for every civilian killed there by American troops.

Our troops are now supposed to be in Afghanistan to train Afghan troops how to defend themselves and the civilians after the US pulls out.

I want to know why the US doesn't demand payment for the lives of American troops killed by the very Afghan soldiers they are "training"to defend themselves against the Taliban.

This is just one country we are talking about.

There should be publicly released figures every month indcating the total amount being paid in the form of foreign aid.

I venture to say it wouldn't take ten years to reach the same amount it would cost to repeal Obamacare.

Obamacare is supposed to be set up to provide healthcare for every man, woman and child in he US; plus a lot of other crap that has nothing whatsoever to do with healthcare.

It's been estimated that 153,000 new employees would be required in order to fully oversee and enforce Obamacare.

How many billions is that going to cost US citizens over a period of ten years.?

The total absence of common sense and logic that pervades Congress just boggles my mind.!!

[petesis]

Increasing the deficit is not the same as spending money... although to a Republican..., perhaps that is not a distinction you understand.

[MurdochSucks]

But why would you want to repeal the Affordable Care Act? What specifically do you oppose? Do you not see how the out-of-control health care costs would eventually leave all of the middle class uninsured?

[Maou_Tsaou]

So healthcare reform raises about 100 billion dollars in revenue for the government per year? THAT'S interesting... And it's also odd that the Medicaid opt out is listed as reducing costs by 84 billion without reference to the time period involved much less a mention of how many more will lack coverage without expanding Medicaid beyond the 20ish million uninsured before the scotus strike. Repeal regardless of cost and with nothing to replace it with at all. An americans worst enemies these days are other americans. Being a patriot used to mean standing for everybody together... even the ones we didn't personally like. So sad to watch a once united house divide itself over such silly childishness.