About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

H.R. 2061, Equitable Access to Care and Health Act 1 (September 25, 2015)

handle is hein.congrec/cbo2542 and id is 1 raw text is: CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE
COST ESTIMATE
September 25, 2015
H.R. 2061
Equitable Access to Care and Health Act
As ordered reported by the House Committee on Ways and Means on September 17, 2015
SUMMARY
H.R. 2061 would expand the religious conscience exemption from the requirement that
most people in the United States must obtain health insurance coverage or pay a penalty for
not doing so (a provision of the Affordable Care Act known as the individual mandate).
Specifically, the bill would newly exempt members of religious sects or divisions that do
not meet the criteria for the religious conscience exemption under current law, but who rely
solely on a religious method of healing and for whom the acceptance of medical health
services would be inconsistent with their religious beliefs.'
On net, CBO and the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) estimate that enacting
H.R. 2061 would increase federal deficits by $1.2 billion over the 2016-2025 period. That
10-year total consists of a $1.9 billion net reduction in revenues, primarily stemming from
forgone penalties from uninsured individuals, partially offset by a $0.6 billion decrease in
direct spending resulting from fewer people enrolling in Medicaid and subsidized health
insurance coverage obtained through exchanges. The estimated reduction in revenues
exceeds the estimated reduction in direct spending because CBO and JCT estimate that
most of the people that would newly claim an exemption from the individual mandate
under the bill are and will continue to be uninsured under current law. Pay-as-you-go
procedures apply because enacting the legislation would affect direct spending and
revenues.
CBO and JCT estimate that enacting the legislation would not increase net direct spending
in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2026; however, the agencies
estimate that enacting the legislation would increase on-budget deficits by at least
$5 billion in at least one of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2026.
1. Under current law, people qualify for the religious conscience exemption from the individual mandate only if they
are members of religious sects or divisions that are conscientiously opposed to accepting insurance
benefits-including Social Security and Medicare-and who meet other requirements listed under section
1402(g)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

profiles profiles most