Repealing the Affordable Care Act without a replacement would increase the number of uninsured people by 32 million and double premiums by 2026, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said in a report that will add pressure on Republicans’ contentious efforts to end the law.
About 18 million would be uninsured and premiums would rise as much as 25 percent in the first year alone, according to the agency, which evaluates the financial implications of policy for lawmakers.
The numbers published Tuesday are extrapolated from a vetoed 2015 bill that would have repealed much of Obamacare. The measure would have eliminated the Medicaid coverage expansion and subsidies to help citizens purchase policies, but would have kept popular pieces such as guaranteeing coverage to Americans with pre-existing conditions. The report didn’t consider the costs and benefits of a Republican replacement plan, because none has been written.
Republican lawmakers for years have promised to end the 2010 law, President Barack Obama’s signature health-care achievement, but haven’t settled on measures to replace it.
