CBO Report on Longer-Term Effects of BCRA on Medicaid Spending


July 3, 2017

Medicaid spending under the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017 would be 26 percent lower in 2026 than it would be under the agency’s extended baseline, according to a report published by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office on June 29.  In CBO’s assessment, the gap would widen to about 35 percent in 2036. Under CBO’s extended baseline, overall Medicaid spending would grow 5.1 percent per year during the next two decades, in part because prices for medical services would increase. Under this legislation, such spending would increase at a rate of 1.9 percent per year through 2026 and about 3.5 percent per year in the decade after that.

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