CBO Score Of Health Bill Divides Republicans, Threatening Obamacare Repeal Efforts

Republicans are divided over how to proceed with the health care bill being pushed by Speaker Paul Ryan and the White House after the Congressional Budget Office predicted it could result in many millions of Americans going without coverage.

After the report, which estimated that 24 million more people would be uninsured by 2026 if the law was passed, was released Monday evening, many GOP lawmakers began backing away from the bill.

Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, said in a statement, "It should prompt the House to slow down and reconsider certain provisions of the bill." (For more information on this and other political stories, subscribe to the White House Patch for daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

She continued: "We need to spend the time necessary to get this right."

In a statement Tuesday, Sen Ted Cruz, the Texas Republican and former Trump Rival, raised concerns about the CBO's prediction that premiums would rise in 2018 and 2019 under the bill.

“This is not the mandate that we were elected to fulfill,” he told reporters. “The test of success will be a year from now, two years from now, three years from now: Is health care more affordable?”

Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican, called the CBO's score "awful." Other senators, including John McCain and Lindsey Graham, expressed worries about the effects the bill could have on their constituents.

Only three GOP senators would need to join with the Democratic caucus to thwart the bill's passage.

Meanwhile, House Speaker Paul Ryan is happy enough with the report that he doesn't want any more changes made to the bill before it goes to a house vote, according to Bloomberg. He told Bret Baier on Fox News that the CBO's report "exceeded his expectations":

But the White House, and Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price in particular, has tried to distance itself from the report and cast doubt on its findings.

"We disagree strenuously with the report that was put out," Price said to reporters Monday night.

He said that the plan will "cover more individuals at a lower cost." Regarding the projections that 14 million people could soon become uninsured in 2018, he said, "It's just not believable."

On Tuesday, Chris Ruddy, a friend of the president and publisher of the conservative Newsmax, wrote an op-ed asking Trump to change course. He thinks administration should back away from the current bill and offer a solution that relies more heavily on Medicaid to provide more people access to insurance — a suggestion that resembles many Democratic proposals for health care.

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