DistilInfo FAST FIVE
Provisions of President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better Act could save $111 billion over the next ten years by reducing employer-sponsored rates by 1.1 percent on average annually. According to the Urban Institute, if the act is implemented, premiums will be reduced by $3 billion by 2023 and $21 billion by 2031.
1. Funds:
The report, which was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, attributes the savings primarily to the act’s drug inflation rebate provision, which aims to reduce federal and private drug spending.
2. Coverage:
“Approximately half of the people in America are covered by employer-sponsored health insurance,” said Katherine Hempstead, senior policy adviser at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “Lowering the cost of prescription drugs lowers the cost of insurance premiums. That puts more money in the pockets of working families.”
3. The plan:
The Build Back Better Act is a bill introduced in the 117th Congress to fulfill aspects of President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better Plan. It was spun off from the American Jobs Plan, alongside the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, as a $3.5 trillion reconciliation package that included provisions related to climate change and social policy.
Read More: Build Back Better now may cover Child Health Insurance Program
4. Addition:
Perhaps the greatest addition outlined in the proposal is the coverage gap for individuals in states that haven’t expanded Medicaid coverage. Build Back Better would provide $0 ACA premiums to individuals who live in the 12 holdout states that haven’t adopted the ACA’s Medicaid expansion.
5. Healthcare:
With a drop of nearly 3 million enrollees in employer-sponsored healthcare, those individuals will turn to subsidized healthcare through a state or federal health exchange. More enrollees in ACA marketplace coverage means more PTCs.