The Affordable Care Act may lead to fewer employers offering health plans, according to a report by the
Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan agency that forecasts budgets and costs of legislation.
"As a result of the ACA, between
4 million and 9 million fewer people are projected to have employment-based coverage each year from 2017 to 2026 than would have had such coverage if the ACA had never been enacted," said the report.
The Affordable Care Act is driving the U.S.'s gains in insurance coverage, which is an issue for Republicans who seek to repeal the act, reports
Fox News.
The report about the success of the healthcare plan is mixed, notes
The New York Times. The cost of coverage under the Affordable Care Act will be higher than in 2015, but that cost is 25 percent less than its original estimate in 2010.
Today, employers cover 155 million people, about 57 percent of those under 65. The report predicts that will decline to 152 million by 2019.
Through Obamacare, some workers might qualify for Medicaid, and employers might choose to drop coverage because a government option is available. However, larger employers will face fines if they choose to do that.
The report notes coverage by employers was on the decline before the Affordable Care Act became law.
The American Media Institute Newswire said the law will cost $136 billion more than when the report was run in 2015.
That rise, is due to the higher enrollment in the act's expanded Medicaid program, reports
the Houston Chronicle.
"It's important to appreciate that [the ACA] is not just about some race to meet a given number of enrollees," said ACA spokesman Aaron Albright. "It is about health care in America for all of us as we go through life."
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