WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump promised to make health care more affordable but a government report finds that out-of-pocket costs – deductibles and copayments – would average 61 percent higher under the House Republican bill.
And even though the sticker price for premiums would be lower than under the Obama-era law, what consumers actually pay would edge up on average because government financial assistance would be curtailed.
The report from the Office of the Actuary, a nonpartisan economic unit at the Health and Human Services Department, was released earlier this week with little fanfare.
“It’s fascinating,” said Chris Sloan, a policy expert with the Avalere Health consulting firm. “They actually think that on average people will be paying more even though the underlying premium is less.”
The estimates are for the year 2026, and apply to people who buy their own health insurance policies. That group was a major focus of former President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act. Individually-purchased coverage is also key to the GOP’s American Health Care Act, which would roll back much of “Obamacare.”