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| Republican healthcare plan: 24 million people could lose coverage, CBO reports | Republican healthcare plan: 24 million people could lose coverage, CBO reports |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| As many as 24 million Americans risk losing health coverage over the next decade under the Republican plan to replace the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said on Monday. | |
| The report predicts a dramatic loss of healthcare coverage over the next decade if Congress enacts the Republican healthcare proposal, which has faced criticism from across the political spectrum and from nearly every sector of the healthcare industry. | |
| An estimated 52 million people would be uninsured in 2026, compared with the 28 million who would lack insurance that year under the current law, according to the report. President Donald Trump, who supports the Republican plan, has promised that his plan would provide “insurance for everybody”. | |
| The congressional analysts estimate that the Republican healthcare proposal could reduce the federal budget by $337bn over 10 years, with largest savings would come from cuts to the federal Medicaid program and “Obamacare” tax credits for people who buy insurance individually. | The congressional analysts estimate that the Republican healthcare proposal could reduce the federal budget by $337bn over 10 years, with largest savings would come from cuts to the federal Medicaid program and “Obamacare” tax credits for people who buy insurance individually. |
| Republicans were bracing for a dismal accounting from the budget office on Monday, as the bill, called the American Health Care Act, faces intensifying opposition from conservatives, Democrats, consumer interest groups and nearly every sector of the US healthcare industry. | |
| Reacting to the CBO score, Health and Human Services secretary Tom Price said the White House “strenuously” disagrees with the conclusion of the report, arguing that the score only accounted for one phase of the three-pronged plan. | |
| House speaker Paul Ryan said the report “confirms” that his plan will “lower premiums and improve access to quality” while acknowledging the loss of coverage. | |
| “Our plan is not about forcing people to buy expensive, one-size-fits-all coverage,” Ryan said in a statement. “It is about giving people more choices and better access to a plan they want and can afford. When people have more choices, costs go down.” | |
| Democrats, who had criticized Republicans for pressing ahead with the legislation before the CBO score was released, seized on the findings that millions would be thrown off their coverage under the Republican plan despite Trump’s vow that his plan would provide universal coverage. | |
| “It is abundantly clear why congressional Republicans wanted to rush their healthcare bill through committee during two middle-of-the-night mark-ups – they know it is a fundamentally bad deal for Americans,” said House Democratic caucus chairman Joe Crowley of New York. | |
| “Donald Trump’s ‘insurance for everybody’ pledge was a big fat lie,” Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez said in a statement. | |
| The ACHA seeks to radically transform and cut Medicaid, one of America’s largest social safety nets; end requirements for Americans to purchase healthcare; allow insurance companies to charge the old five times more than the young; expand tax-free health savings accounts; cut taxes that would disproportionately benefit the wealthy; and shrink subsidies that benefit the middle class. | The ACHA seeks to radically transform and cut Medicaid, one of America’s largest social safety nets; end requirements for Americans to purchase healthcare; allow insurance companies to charge the old five times more than the young; expand tax-free health savings accounts; cut taxes that would disproportionately benefit the wealthy; and shrink subsidies that benefit the middle class. |
| At the same time, it allows insurance companies to levy a 30% surcharge to anyone who does not have insurance for more than two months, meant to incentivize people to keep insurance. | At the same time, it allows insurance companies to levy a 30% surcharge to anyone who does not have insurance for more than two months, meant to incentivize people to keep insurance. |
| When the ACA was passed, it sought to insure all Americans and standardize health benefits. The law passed consumer protections, expanded Medicaid to single adults and established subsidized marketplaces for individuals to buy insurance. | When the ACA was passed, it sought to insure all Americans and standardize health benefits. The law passed consumer protections, expanded Medicaid to single adults and established subsidized marketplaces for individuals to buy insurance. |
| Though the GOP plan would scrap many of the existing law’s critical provisions, it keeps a handful of its most popular ones: a requirement that insurers cover the sick, allowing young people to stay on their parents’ health insurance, and a ban on lifetime coverage caps. | Though the GOP plan would scrap many of the existing law’s critical provisions, it keeps a handful of its most popular ones: a requirement that insurers cover the sick, allowing young people to stay on their parents’ health insurance, and a ban on lifetime coverage caps. |
| During the presidential campaign, Donald Trump touted a replacement plan that would “cover everybody”. | |
| Earlier on Monday, Trump invited a group of people – referred to by the administration as “victims of Obamacare” – to the White House to share their recount their negative experiences with the healthcare law. | Earlier on Monday, Trump invited a group of people – referred to by the administration as “victims of Obamacare” – to the White House to share their recount their negative experiences with the healthcare law. |
| During the listening session, Trump heard from a cattle rancher who said her business was at risk because of the burden of providing healthcare for her employees, and a stay-at-home mom who was forced to re-enter the workforce because the increase in the premium for their family insurance was unaffordable, among others. The president promised the table that the Republican plan would ensure “access for everyone”, a departure from his earlier promise to create universal healthcare. | During the listening session, Trump heard from a cattle rancher who said her business was at risk because of the burden of providing healthcare for her employees, and a stay-at-home mom who was forced to re-enter the workforce because the increase in the premium for their family insurance was unaffordable, among others. The president promised the table that the Republican plan would ensure “access for everyone”, a departure from his earlier promise to create universal healthcare. |
| However, that access would come with a price for some groups, the CBO predicted. Changes in the Republican bill could cause monthly costs for older, poorer Americans to rise dramatically. For example, a 64-year-old earning $26,500 per year would have annual out-of-pocket costs increase by $14,600, from $1,700 per year under current law. | |
| By contrast, young people could see annual costs drop. A 21-year-old earning the same amount of money would pay just $1,450 out-of-pocket, a $250 decrease from current law. | |
| This weekend, Trump weighed in to contradict the narrative that the replacement plan, which comes with the full backing of his administration, is imperiled by Republican divisions. | This weekend, Trump weighed in to contradict the narrative that the replacement plan, which comes with the full backing of his administration, is imperiled by Republican divisions. |
| “We are making great progress with healthcare,” Trump tweeted on Saturday. “Obamacare is imploding and will only get worse. Republicans coming together to get job done!” | “We are making great progress with healthcare,” Trump tweeted on Saturday. “Obamacare is imploding and will only get worse. Republicans coming together to get job done!” |
| The conclusion by the Congressional Budget Office that fewer people will be covered under the GOP healthcare plan was widely anticipated, and on Sunday Republicans sought to downplay the impact of the analysis. | The conclusion by the Congressional Budget Office that fewer people will be covered under the GOP healthcare plan was widely anticipated, and on Sunday Republicans sought to downplay the impact of the analysis. |
| White House chief economic adviser Gary Cohn said the CBO analysis would be “meaningless” on Fox News Sunday. | White House chief economic adviser Gary Cohn said the CBO analysis would be “meaningless” on Fox News Sunday. |
| House speaker Paul Ryan said on CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday: “The one thing I’m certain will happen is CBO will say, ‘Well, gosh, not as many people will get coverage.’ You know why? Because this isn’t a government mandate.” | House speaker Paul Ryan said on CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday: “The one thing I’m certain will happen is CBO will say, ‘Well, gosh, not as many people will get coverage.’ You know why? Because this isn’t a government mandate.” |
| Health secretary Tom Price also claimed on Meet the Press that “nobody will be worse off financially” as a result of the plan, a prediction the CBO report contradicts. | Health secretary Tom Price also claimed on Meet the Press that “nobody will be worse off financially” as a result of the plan, a prediction the CBO report contradicts. |
| Meanwhile, conservative Republicans sharpened their opposition to the repeal-and-replace proposal, which some have dubbed “Obamacare Lite”. | Meanwhile, conservative Republicans sharpened their opposition to the repeal-and-replace proposal, which some have dubbed “Obamacare Lite”. |
| With the GOP having only a two-vote majority in the Senate, the bill needs to bring warring factions together to pass, assuming Democrats uniformly oppose the bill. | With the GOP having only a two-vote majority in the Senate, the bill needs to bring warring factions together to pass, assuming Democrats uniformly oppose the bill. |
| Heritage Action for America, one of the most influential conservative opponents of the Republican healthcare law, cast doubt on whether the bill has enough votes to pass the House. | |
| “The biggest fear I have – what keeps me up at night – is that Republicans pass a health-care bill that keeps the fundamental architecture of Obamacare,” Michael Needham, the CEO of Heritage Action, told reporter on Monday. “Then, in 2020 or 2024, the American people look at the mess and vote in a Democrat who says the answer is single-payer healthcare.” | |
| “I would say to my friends in the House of Representatives with whom I serve: ‘Do not walk the plank and vote for a bill that cannot pass the Senate and then have to face the consequences of that vote,’” Tom Cotton, a Republican senator for Arkansas, told ABC. “If they vote for this bill, they’re going to put the House majority at risk next year.” | “I would say to my friends in the House of Representatives with whom I serve: ‘Do not walk the plank and vote for a bill that cannot pass the Senate and then have to face the consequences of that vote,’” Tom Cotton, a Republican senator for Arkansas, told ABC. “If they vote for this bill, they’re going to put the House majority at risk next year.” |
| Equally as blunt, Rand Paul, a Republican senator for Kentucky, said of Ryan’s plan: “He will not have the votes.” | Equally as blunt, Rand Paul, a Republican senator for Kentucky, said of Ryan’s plan: “He will not have the votes.” |
| A handful of GOP senators have criticized the bill for not protecting Medicaid beneficiaries, and two Republican senators have objected to the provision stripping Planned Parenthood of federal funding. | A handful of GOP senators have criticized the bill for not protecting Medicaid beneficiaries, and two Republican senators have objected to the provision stripping Planned Parenthood of federal funding. |
| House Republicans have pressed ahead quickly with the bill, which was unveiled last week. The healthcare plan was approved by two key House committees last week after all-night debates and despite objections from Democrats, who argued that it was critical to know the findings of the CBO report first. The proposal will next head to the House budget committee. | House Republicans have pressed ahead quickly with the bill, which was unveiled last week. The healthcare plan was approved by two key House committees last week after all-night debates and despite objections from Democrats, who argued that it was critical to know the findings of the CBO report first. The proposal will next head to the House budget committee. |
| According to a preliminary assessment from the ratings agency S&P Global, between two million and four million people who are insured through the individual insurance market under the healthcare law could lose coverage, as well as between four million and six million people who are currently enrolled in Medicaid. | |
| The left-leaning Brookings Institute predicted the CBO report would show that as many as 15 million people would lose coverage if the healthcare replacement plan passes. And the Commonwealth Fund, which supports health policy research, estimates that one in 10 Americans is at risk of having “no insurance, less affordable insurance, or less valuable insurance if the law is repealed without a replacement that does as well as or better than the ACA in assuring access to needed healthcare services”. | |
| At the same time, as debate on the ACA has heated up its popularity hit a historic high in February, according to findings from the Pew Research Center and the latest Kaiser Health Tracking poll. The result is the highest level of support for the law in the 60 tracking polls Kaiser Health has conducted since 2010. | At the same time, as debate on the ACA has heated up its popularity hit a historic high in February, according to findings from the Pew Research Center and the latest Kaiser Health Tracking poll. The result is the highest level of support for the law in the 60 tracking polls Kaiser Health has conducted since 2010. |