CBO score sure to add to McConnell's headaches
The budget office is poised to tell Senate Republicans their health bill will leave millions more uninsured than Obamacare.
By ADAM CANCRYN and DAN DIAMOND 06/26/2017 05:26 AM EDT
The CBO is poised to tell Senate Republicans this week that their health plan will leave millions more uninsured than Obamacare — with the losses estimated from 15 million to 22 million over a decade, according to a half dozen budget analysts polled by POLITICO.
"What I can say with confidence is that the Senate bill will lead to very large coverage losses," predicted Matt Fiedler of the Brookings Institution, which had previewed the CBO score of the House bill in March but declined to do so for the Senate. "The only question is how large." And that could complicate GOP leaders' attempts to corral wavering moderates as they race to lock down votes ahead of a possible vote by week’s end to give President Donald Trump his first legislative victory.
Still-uncommitted moderates like Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), will face increasing pressure to oppose the bill. All hail from states that have expanded Medicaid, where hundreds of thousands of newly covered Americans may lose coverage.
Some senators have already staked out opposition to significant declines in coverage. "I cannot support a bill that's going to result in tens of millions of people losing their health insurance," Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said on Thursday.
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http://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/26/gop-senate-health-care-bill-cbo-score-239921
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