Weekly Economic Snapshot 5/8 - 5/12

Economic Facts for this Week

• TrumpCare’s funding for high-risk pools falls short by at least $200 billion over 10 years (a conservative estimate, assuming very small pools).
• Before the Affordable Care Act (ACA), 105 million people had lifetime limits on coverage, 28 million of whom were children. While the ACA eliminated this barrier to care, TrumpCare will let insurance companies reinstate lifetime limits.
• Without essential health benefits, plans often don’t cover important health care needs. In 2011, 62 percent of enrollees in the individual market had plans that didn’t cover maternity care and 34 percent had plans that didn’t cover substance abuse treatment. 
• New research shows that even a $40 increase in monthly premiums causes a 25 percent decline in insurance enrollment. This research suggests that the drop in coverage under TrumpCare will be substantial.

Chart of the Week

As many as 133 million Americans have pre-existing health conditions, including 17 million children. People with higher levels of household income are actually less likely to have a pre-existing condition than low-income people. Thirty-four million people have asthma or chronic lung disease, 16 million have heart conditions or heart disease, 13 million have diabetes, and 11 million have cancer.

ICYMI

• Upward economic mobility has declined precipitously since 1940. In 1940, 92 percent of children born that year would earn more than their parents, compared to only half of children born in 1984. Stronger economic growth alone will not close this opportunity gap, whereas less income inequality would reverse over 90 percent of this decline. 
• Economists overwhelmingly agree that President Trump’s tax plan would not pay for itself through higher economic growth. Under his “plan”, the country would face either severe cutbacks on public services and investments or rapidly rising public debt.

Coming This Week

• Tuesday 10:00am: Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey – https://www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.htm
• Friday 8:30am: Consumer Price Index and Real Earnings – https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm; https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/realer.pdf