The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis of the Senate Democrats' health care "reform" bill has been released, and the picture isn't pretty -- especially for young adults. As the CBO states, the bill includes provisions that mandate insurance policies that "would have to cover a specified set of services", and that insurance "premiums could not vary to reflect differences in enrollees' health or use of services and could vary on the basis of an enrollee's age only to a limited degree".
Taken together, these government mandates mean that young adults will be forced to purchase more expensive insurance coverage they may not want or need for themselves and their families, or face stiff fines from the government. Additionally, young adults will be unable to negotiate lower premiums. It's no surprise that the CBO report concludes that the healthcare proposals "would tend to increase the premiums paid by younger enrollees". Moreover, the CBO study "does not incorporate potential effects of the proposal on the level or growth rate of spending for health care that might stem from increased demand for services", nor does it include the impact of raising taxes -- during a recession -- on jobs, compensation, and benefits for individual Americans.
The Young Republicans National Federation continues to call on Congress to enact true health care reform based on common-sense initiatives that increase market competition, choice for consumers, and access for Americans of all ages, without increasing taxes or imposing new mandates and prohibitions.
The YRNF encourages YRs across our country to make their voice heard:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
