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.
JCT has determined that the bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
