Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Director Doug Elmendorf confirmed Thursday during a House Budget Committee hearing that President Barack Obama’s health care law will reduce the workforce by 800,000 by 2021 because some individuals will no longer have to work just so they can afford health insurance, Politico reported Thursday.
“[I]t’s been argued…that the new health care law will create jobs and increase labor force participation,” said House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan. “But if I recall from your analysis, it was quite the opposite. Is that not the case?”
“Yes,” replied Elmendorf.
Elmendorf agreed with Republican California Rep. John Campbell’s claim that the health care law would reduce employment by 800,000.
“Yes,” Elmendorf said. “The way I would put it is that we do estimate, as you said, that…employment will be about 160 million by the end of the decade. Half a percent of that is 800,000.”
This article as been updated. An earlier version of this article stated that Obamacare would reduce employment by 800,000 jobs.