Senate Bill: Do Premiums Go Up or Down?
Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer tweeted that premiums would be 300 percent higher under the Senate Republican health care bill for a 64-year-old earning $56,800 in 2026, compared with current law. Republican Sen. John Barrasso said the bill “lowers the rates for insurance 30 percent a couple years from now.” Both cited the Congressional Budget Office. Who’s right? They both are.
On premiums, there’s something for both parties in the nonpartisan CBO’s analysis of the GOP’s Better Care Reconciliation Act.
That bill — just like the Affordable Care Act, and the House Republicans’ bill — would affect premiums on the individual market in different ways, depending on individual circumstances. Let’s go through the details.
We’ve said this time and time again: These claims about premiums concern a relatively small segment of the insurance market where those without of Americans buy individual, or nongroup, market plans, while 49 percent get coverage through employers. But politicians often leave out that important detail, perhaps giving the impression that all premiums would be significantly affected.
