(Newser)
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The Congressional Budget Office has crunched the numbers on ObamaCare in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling, and two main points emerge, according to the Washington Post and New York Times: More people than expected will go without insurance over the next decade, and the law won't cost as much. Both differences stem from the court's decision to let states opt out of expanded Medicaid coverage.
- Fewer insured: The CBO estimates that 6 million fewer people than projected will be insured by Medicaid in 2022. It guesses that half will pick up private coverage via the new insurance exchanges, leaving the other half uncovered.
- Less costly: With fewer people covered, the Affordable Care Act will be cheaper for taxpayers. The CBO sees "a net cost of $1,168 billion over the 2012-2022 period—compared with $1,252 billion projected in March 2012 for that 11-year period—for a net reduction of $84 billion."
