Study: Extending CSRs, Reinsurance Would Reduce Uninsured, Premiums

Congressional proposals to appropriate $10 billion a year from 2019 to 2021 to extend cost sharing reductions and reinsurance for the individual health insurance market would expand health coverage to an additional 3.2 million people and lower premiums by at least 40%, according to a new analysis by consultants at Oliver Wyman. The analysis assumes that states would use federal pass-through savings under Section 1332 of the Affordable Care Act to supplement and leverage the $10 billion in annual appropriations. Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and Susan Collins (R-ME) said the analysis “further demonstrates that our bipartisan proposals will help drive down premiums in the individual market and make health insurance more affordable for millions of Americans.” Sens. Alexander and Patty Murray (D-WA) are co-sponsors of the Bipartisan Health Care Stabilization Act, while Sens. Collins and Bill Nelson (D-FL) are co-sponsors of the Lower Premiums Through Reinsurance Act (S. 1835). The AHA and seven other national organizations last week urged Congress to advance bipartisan legislation that includes both premium reduction/reinsurance and funding for CSR benefits as part of the March 23 omnibus appropriations.