House Energy and Commerce Committee leaders responded to the Congressional Budget Office’s latest Budget and Economic Outlook which was released today. The CBO baseline offers an updated look at the president’s health care law and its effect on the economy over the next ten years. 

“This latest diagnosis from the nonpartisan CBO confirms what we have been saying all along – that the president’s health law is bad medicine for jobs and the economy,” commented Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI). “Broken promises leading to cancelled health plans and limited access to doctors have defined the first several months of this law. Sadly, slower growth and fewer jobs will now define the next decade. The American people deserve better solutions that provide peace of mind and better quality of care.”    

“The failure of the president’s health care law is turning the worst case scenario into a reality for low income families across the country,” commented Energy and Commerce Committee Vice Chairman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). “Families in Tennessee and across the country have been struggling for too long because of the president’s failed policies. The 2,700 pages of his health care law stand squarely in the way of growth and are taking 2.5 million jobs and $2 trillion out of the economy with it.” 

Among the findings, the new analysis finds that:

• “CBO’s updated estimate of the decrease in hours worked translates to a reduction in full-time-equivalent employment of about 2.0 million in 2017, rising to about 2.5 million in 2024, compared with what would have occurred in the absence of the ACA,” (Page 127).
• The law will cost more than $2 trillion over the next ten years (Page 106). This is up from an estimate of $1.8 trillion last year.
• Six million people are expected to enroll in the exchanges in 2014 (Page 107). This is 1 million fewer than last year’s estimate and 1 million fewer than Secretary Sebelius’ definition of success.