Leading Democrats on Tuesday accused Republicans of attacking congressional bean-counters simply because their health care plan fell short of their own promises to the American people.
The White House and GOP leaders rejected parts of a Congressional Budget Office report that said the House plan would result in 24 million fewer people holding insurance a decade from now, even as they highlighted portions that said the government would save more than $300 billion and premiums would ultimately drop by 10 percent.
“Republicans are attacking the referee, here, because they’re losing the game, plain and simple,” Sen. Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, said.
Democrats say the unflattering CBO score should be a “knockout blow” to Republicans who are struggling to pass the first phase of their plan to repeal and replace Obamacare through fast-track budget rules that can avoid a Democratic filibuster.
Conservatives say it creates a new entitlement through refundable tax credits, while centrists say they need a softer landing for constituents who rely on the Medicaid coverage for the poor.
President Trump pledged to leave Medicaid alone during the campaign, but the plan he endorsed freezes Obamacare’s expansion of the program in 2020 and then caps federal funding to the states.
Scorekeepers said changes to the program account for the biggest federal savings and drops in coverage over the 10-year budget window.
Mr. Trump also promised “insurance for everybody” earlier this year, though 14 million fewer people would have coverage by next year, the CBO said.
“It’s one of the biggest broken promises that this president has made,” Mr. Schumer said.
Republicans, however, say the uninsured rate will only go up in the near term because they’re erasing Obamacare’s unpopular individual mandate requiring people to get covered, while premiums will go down within a decade.
They also said the CBO didn’t account for potential regulatory changes from Mr. Trump or future bills that GOP lawmakers will write.
Republican Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana on Tuesday said they’re not ready to bank on future plans, however, so the House might want to consider changes to their bill to get it through the Senate.
Others said they’re eyeing changes that could help low-income people or older Americans, aged 50-64, who stand to be worse off, financially, under the current plan.
Sen. Roy Blunt, Missouri Republican, said one of the GOP caucus’ main concerns is “being sure that older, low-income people have more choices and more access to the marketplace, but then, more importantly, more access to care.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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