However, the cost savings in the bill (as analyzed by the Congressional Budget Office--see DM 10432) were not included in this report. On page one of the report and in a subsequent statement, PWC said that it focused on four components of the bill and did not estimate the impact of the new subsidies on the net insurance cost to households. In addition, PWC acknowledged that if "other provisions in health care reform are successful in lowering costs over the long term, those improvements would offset some of the impacts we have estimated."

Nonetheless, AHIP President and CEO Karen Ignagni expressed reservations over the bill passage Tuesday, stating, "While we agree with the objective of the current proposal, we are concerned about its workability and cost. The bill imposes hundreds of billions of dollars in new health care taxes and provides an incentive for people to wait until they are sick to purchase coverage."

The White House has responded strongly to the PWC report. Linda Douglass of the White House Health Reform Office was quoted in the White House blog as saying the report was hard to take seriously. "The analysis completely ignores critical policies that will lower costs for those who have insurance, expand coverage and provide affordable health insurance options to millions of Americans who are priced out of today's health insurance market or are locked out by unfair insurance company practices."

Read all the details:

AHIP remarks can be accessed at: http://www.ahip.org/content/pressrelease.aspx?docid=28535

The PricewaterhouseCoopers report can be accessed at: http://www.americanhealthsolution.org/assets/Reform-Resources/AHIP-Reform-Resources/PWC-Report-on-Costs-Final.pdf

The President's remarks may be accessed at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Remarks-by-the-President-on-the-Senate-Finance-Committees-Vote-to-Approve-Health-Insurance-Reform/

The White House blog: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/Reality-Check-AHIPs-Study-Hard-to-Take-Seriously/

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