Buddy Carter expects CBO score for new health care bill ‘will be just fine’

Rep. Earl L. “Buddy” Carter predicted Wednesday that the Congressional Budget Office’s score of the new health care bill “will be just fine” when it’s released later in the day.

“We’ve already had two CBO scores on this bill already. We did add an amendment, which will impact it some, but I think when the CBO score comes in, it’s going to show that we’re going to have lower premiums, we’re going to have more accessibility, so I think the CBO score will be just fine,” Mr. Carter, Georgia Republican, said on MSNBC.

The CBO is expected to release its score for the new House Republican bill Wednesday. The bill was already scored twice by the CBO, but was not reviewed again with the additional amendments added prior to passing it through the House, earning criticism from members on both sides of the aisle.

Mr. Carter did say, however, that the bill does protect those with pre-existing conditions, a huge part of the bill’s initial controversy. He said the only time rates will increase for those with such conditions is if people allow their coverage to lapse.

“The only time they can go up on the rates is if they let their coverage lapse for more than 63 days. We’re not going to allow people to game the system. You can’t buy fire insurance on your house when your house is on fire. You can’t buy health insurance when you find out you’ve got cancer,” he said.