On March 20, 2010, CBO released its final cost estimate for the major health care legislation approved by the Congress shortly thereafter. (The estimate covers the effects of both the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act.) In the estimate, Table 1 (on page 5) provides a summary; Table 2 (near the back of the estimate) offers a detailed breakdown of the budgetary effects; Table 3 presents the effects on health insurance coverage and the budgetary effects of the provisions related to coverage; and Table 5 shows the budgetary effects of the health care provisions that are not related to insurance coverage (primarily involving the Medicare program). The estimated impact of the legislation's revenue provisions was reported separately by the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation.
CBO has also released other information related to the legislation:
CBO’s panel of health advisers meets periodically to advise the agency on its analyses of health care issues. The panel thus helps to further the reliability, professional quality, and transparency of the agency’s work.
Experts from across the agency come together to analyze health care: estimating the budgetary impacts of federal health care programs, preparing studies of health policy issues, and estimating the budgetary and other effects of proposals to alter the health care system. Two units in the Budget Analysis Division focus particularly on estimating the cost of proposed health care legislation and projecting spending for federal health care programs. The Health and Human Resources Division conducts studies of health issues, including Medicare, Medicaid, pharmaceuticals, public health, and private health markets; it also develops models that underlie cost estimates. The National Security Division conducts studies of the health care provided by the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs. The Microeconomic Studies Division also analyzes health issues, especially those related to competition or market structure, including most recently prescription drug pricing and research and development in the pharmaceutical industry.
CBO continually seeks health economists, analysts, and research assistants for health-related programs. The agency has also devoted an internship to health policy, which is for graduate students. It may be available on a summer, semester, or year-long basis depending on work needs and students' availability.
H.R. 4872, Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Final Health Care Legislation)
March 20, 2010pdfadditional infoblog post
Cost estimate for the amendment in the nature of a substitute for H.R. 4872, incorporating a proposed manager's amendment made public on March 20, 2010
Key Issues in Analyzing Major Health Insurance Proposals
December 2008htmlpdfchartsblog post
Budget Options, Volume 1: Health Care
December 2008pdfchartsblog post
Preliminary Analysis of Rivlin-Ryan Health Care Proposal
November 17, 2010 pdf
Letter to the Honorable Paul Ryan
The Effect of the March Health Legislation on Prescription Drug Prices
November 4, 2010pdf
Letter to the Honorable Paul Ryan
Potential Costs of Veterans' Health Care
October 2010pdfblog post
S. 510, FDA Food Safety Modernization Act
November 19, 2010 pdf
Pay-as-you-go estimate for Senate Amendment 4715 in the nature of a substitute to S. 510
Physician Payment and Therapy Relief Act of 2010
November 18, 2010 pdf
Pay-as-you-go estimate for the bill as introduced on November 18, 2010
H.R. 5663, Robert C. Byrd Miner Safety and Health Act of 2010
October 7, 2010pdf
Cost estimate for the bill as reported by the House Committee on Education and Labor on July 29, 2010