(Bloomberg) March, 13, 2017 - About 24 million people are expected to lose health-care coverage by 2026 under Republicans' plan to repeal and replace parts of Obamacare, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
Even though it was expected, the coverage-loss estimate is a sweeping blow to President Donald Trump and fellow Republicans, who are trying to push the legislation through the House and Senate without Democratic support. They have pre-emptively argued that the CBO score isn't as important as what they say will be less-expensive coverage options under their plan.
The CBO, the official scorekeeper of the budgetary effects of proposed legislation, also said the GOP proposal would reduce the deficit by $337 billion over the next decade.
House Speaker Paul Ryan has prepared his party in anticipation of receiving an estimate that more people would be uninsured than under the Affordable Care Act. About 20 million people gained coverage under Obamacare and its expansion of Medicaid, the federal-state health program for the poor.
“I've been telling our members, just get ready, this is always what happens with CBO,” Ryan told radio host Hugh Hewitt on Friday. “You're never going to win a coverage beauty contest when it's free market versus government mandates.”
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The legislation, called the American Health Care Act, repeals Obamacare's mandate that everyone must have insurance or pay a penalty. It also provides age-based tax credits to help people purchase coverage, though they're lower than the income-based subsidies offered under current law. The bill will also wind down Obamacare's expansion of Medicaid in 2020. About 12 million people signed up for Medicaid expansion in the 31 states that chose to participate.
Two key House committees approved the AHCA on Thursday after marathon sessions in which Democrats offered a series of amendments that were then rejected by Republicans. The bill will head next to the Budget Committee before being considered by the full House of Representatives.
Republicans who have downplayed the CBO's role point out that the office overestimated by several million the number of people who would sign up for insurance through the Obamacare marketplaces.
“They have been woefully underperforming when it comes to evaluating health systems,” Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price said Friday on MSNBC's “Morning Joe.” “And that's not because they are bad folks, it's because this is challenging stuff.”
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Still, the CBO did correctly predict other aspects of Obamacare, including premium levels and the cost of subsidies to help people buy insurance, said Douglas Elmendorf, CBO director when the office estimated the effects of Obamacare, which Congress passed in 2010.
Republicans hand-picked the current CBO director, Keith Hall. And Price praised Hall in April 2015, after he and other congressional Republicans had just installed him in the post.
“Keith Hall will bring an impressive level of economic expertise and experience to the Congressional Budget Office,” Price said in a statement at the time. He went on to note Hall's background in providing Congress with nonpartisan economic analyses at the U.S. International Trade Commission. Hall also served as chief of George W. Bush's Council of Economic Advisers.
“His vast understanding of economic and labor market policy will be invaluable to the work of CBO and the important role it will continue to play as Congress seeks to enact policies that support a healthy and growing economy,” Price had said.
Even though it was expected, the coverage-loss estimate is a sweeping blow to President Donald Trump and fellow Republicans, who are trying to push the legislation through the House and Senate without Democratic support. They have pre-emptively argued that the CBO score isn't as important as what they say will be less-expensive coverage options under their plan.
The CBO, the official scorekeeper of the budgetary effects of proposed legislation, also said the GOP proposal would reduce the deficit by $337 billion over the next decade.
House Speaker Paul Ryan has prepared his party in anticipation of receiving an estimate that more people would be uninsured than under the Affordable Care Act. About 20 million people gained coverage under Obamacare and its expansion of Medicaid, the federal-state health program for the poor.
“I've been telling our members, just get ready, this is always what happens with CBO,” Ryan told radio host Hugh Hewitt on Friday. “You're never going to win a coverage beauty contest when it's free market versus government mandates.”
TAX CREDITS
The legislation, called the American Health Care Act, repeals Obamacare's mandate that everyone must have insurance or pay a penalty. It also provides age-based tax credits to help people purchase coverage, though they're lower than the income-based subsidies offered under current law. The bill will also wind down Obamacare's expansion of Medicaid in 2020. About 12 million people signed up for Medicaid expansion in the 31 states that chose to participate.
Two key House committees approved the AHCA on Thursday after marathon sessions in which Democrats offered a series of amendments that were then rejected by Republicans. The bill will head next to the Budget Committee before being considered by the full House of Representatives.
Republicans who have downplayed the CBO's role point out that the office overestimated by several million the number of people who would sign up for insurance through the Obamacare marketplaces.
“They have been woefully underperforming when it comes to evaluating health systems,” Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price said Friday on MSNBC's “Morning Joe.” “And that's not because they are bad folks, it's because this is challenging stuff.”
PREVIOUS PRAISE
Still, the CBO did correctly predict other aspects of Obamacare, including premium levels and the cost of subsidies to help people buy insurance, said Douglas Elmendorf, CBO director when the office estimated the effects of Obamacare, which Congress passed in 2010.
Republicans hand-picked the current CBO director, Keith Hall. And Price praised Hall in April 2015, after he and other congressional Republicans had just installed him in the post.
“Keith Hall will bring an impressive level of economic expertise and experience to the Congressional Budget Office,” Price said in a statement at the time. He went on to note Hall's background in providing Congress with nonpartisan economic analyses at the U.S. International Trade Commission. Hall also served as chief of George W. Bush's Council of Economic Advisers.
“His vast understanding of economic and labor market policy will be invaluable to the work of CBO and the important role it will continue to play as Congress seeks to enact policies that support a healthy and growing economy,” Price had said.
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http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20170313/NEWS03/170319956/congressional-budget-office-releases-health-law-review#utm_medium=email&utm_source=ccb-breakingnews&utm_campaign=ccb-breakingnews-20170313
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