Sam Stein and Jeffrey Young — CBO: Obamacare Will Cost Less Than Projected, Cover 12 Million Uninsured People This Year

The Congressional Budget Office has released updated estimates on the Affordable Care Act's impact on both the budget and the health insurance industry. The findings show that the president's signature health care law is actually growing cheaper to implement, costing the government $5 billion less in 2014 than was previously projected. The law also is projected to cover more individuals than previously believed, owing, in part, to some broader workforce trends.

But a significant portion of the population will remain uninsured even with the law fully implemented. And the costs to individuals and employers, while lower than previous estimates, still provide critics of the law with ample fodder....

Even with those gains, a good chunk of the country will still lack coverage. The number of uninsured in 2014 will be 42 million people, according to the CBO. It will fall to 36 million in 2015 and 30 million in 2016 and 2017.

Most of them will remain uninsured because they will have declined coverage, the CBO said. Forty-five percent of them will have access to private insurance through the exchanges or an employer, while 20 percent will be eligible for Medicaid but will not sign up. In addition, 30 percent will be undocumented immigrants, who aren't permitted to use the health insurance exchanges or enroll in Medicaid, and 5 percent will be legal residents eligible for Medicaid but living in states that refused to expand the program under the Affordable Care Act....

The Huffington Post
CBO: Obamacare Will Cost Less Than Projected, Cover 12 Million Uninsured People This Year
Sam Stein and Jeffrey Young