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CBO Score: An Opportunity to Strengthen Affordability Protections

Posted by: Ron Pollack, Executive Director of Families USA on Oct 08, 2009

The CBO score of the Senate Finance Committee's proposal augurs well for the passage of health care reform in the Senate -- even securing the 60 votes needed to stop a filibuster. The fact that the Senate Finance Committee's proposal reduces the deficit in the first ten years by $81 billion; that its cost is estimated to be $829 billion; and that it increases health coverage from 83 percent to 94 percent of legal residents will make the proposal very appealing to Senators as it is merged with the Senate HELP Committee's bill.
 
This happy development offers new opportunities to strengthen the final bill. As Senator Baucus and other leaders have said, one area that needs continuous attention as the bill moves forward is the affordability of health coverage for America's low-, moderate-, and middle-income families. Although America's families may not be able to decipher the real difference between a bill that costs $829 billion or $929 billion or more than $1 trillion over ten years, they certainly will feel the difference if they receive subsidy relief that reduces their premium and other out-of-pocket burden by $500 or $1,000. Indeed, this "pocketbook effect" will be the key test for America's families as they appraise the health reform legislation.
 
Thankfully, CBO's score of the Senate Finance Committee's proposal now provides fiscal opportunities to strengthen the subsidy help that is provided to America's families. The Senate Finance Committee proposal is well below the approximate $900 billion benchmark set by the President, and the $81 billion in savings can be used to ensure that subsidies are more adequate so that families increasingly find coverage and care affordable and fewer families are at risk of being penalized by the individual mandate.
 
Congressional leaders and the President would be wise to use this opportunity to strengthen the bill's affordability protections. This will not only make the final bill much more helpful, it will also improve health reform's stability because it will have even greater support from Americans across the country. 

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This blog is also posted on the National Journal's Expert Blog on Health Care.