Comparing the House and Senate Health Reform Bills: Long Term Costs for Governments, Employers, Families and Providers
February 2010
Lewin contact: John Sheils
The purpose of this analysis was to compare the effects of two major proposals to reform the U.S. health care system. These include the Senate “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” and the “Affordable Health Care for America Act” passed by the House of Representatives. This study provides estimates of the programs' impact on coverage and spending for the federal government, state and local governments, private employers, consumers and providers. We estimated the impact of both bills on federal spending over a 20 year period from 2010 through 2029. The Congress uses 10-year forecasts for budgeting purposes, which is currently 2010 through 2019. To better understand the long-term budget implications of the bill, we present spending estimates for both the 2010 through 2019 budget window and the 2020 through 2029 period.