New ObamaCare ‘Repeal’ Bill Would Cut $215 Billion From Federal Health Spending: Study

WASHINGTON, DC — In a last-ditch attempt to overhaul the American health care system and at least partially fulfill their promise to “repeal and replace Obamacare,” Republicans are rushing forward to try to pass new legislation by a Sept. 30 deadline, which would cut $215 billion from the federal spending on health insurance by 2026, according to a study released Wednesday.

The Congressional Budget Office was given no chance to estimate how many people would lose health care under the proposal, but most estimates place the number in the tens of millions.

Overall, more states — 34 — would see a decrease in federal funding for health care rather than an increase. (For more information on this and other political stories, subscribe to the White House Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

"A reduction in federal subsidies for health insurance is likely to result in more people being uninsured," said Caroline Pearson, a senior vice president at the health industry consulting firm Avalere, which conducted the study. The study itself did not make estimates of the impact on insurance coverage.

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The Graham-Cassidy bill, devised by the senators it was named after, is in many ways more dramatic than previous versions of Obamacare "repeal" bills. It essentially ends the federal spending on Obamacare insurance subsidies and Medicaid expansion, instead giving states lump sums of money for covering their residents' health care costs. States that expanded Medicaid would get less money than they do now, while those that didn't expand would get more.

States that voted for President Donald Trump would not be immune from cuts, though deep-blue California and New York face the deepest reductions. West Virginia, a Trump bastion, would see a $1 billion cut from 2020-2026.

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Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, one of bill’s sponsors, has been one of its most prominent defenders.

“Instead of a Washington-knows-best approach like Obamacare, our legislation empowers those closest to the health care needs of their communities to provide solutions,” he said in a statement. “Our bill takes money and power out of Washington and gives it back to patients and states.”

Republicans are rushing to pass the bill by Sept. 30, when the procedural measure the Senate is using get the legislation through without being filibustered by Democrats will expire. Because of the time crunch, the Graham-Cassidy plan will not be fully evaluated Congressional budget office before a vote can take place, unlike the other health care bills Congress has considered.

Without a CBO evaluation, it’s very difficult to know what the laws impacts will be on insurance premiums, in on the level of health coverage or on the federal deficit.

After promising for seven years to “repeal and replace Obamacare,” Republicans feel intense pressure to pass some form of health care reform. But so far, disagreements in the party about how to proceed and what kind of health care system they would like to see, have scuttled all previous attempts. While some GOP lawmakers want to take an extreme approach and completely repeal all Obama-era spending, taxes and regulations related to health care, others propose more incremental less disruptive changes.

Republicans need 50 lawmakers — in addition to Vice President Pence's tie-breaking vote — to pass the bill through the Senate before it would go to the House of Representatives. It's not clear they have that yet; at least four Republicans are believed to have serious doubts about the bill, and there may be others who are quietly opposed.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Photo of Sens. Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images