The CBO had scored an earlier version of the Republican bill back in March. At the time, it projected that 24 million people would lose health insurance thanks to the bill. But the hard right of the Republican caucus rejected that iteration of the bill. House leadership had to include a new amendment that offered states the option to rip away Obamacare’s core consumer protections. The current bill would allow insurance companies to sidestep Obamacare’s ban on charging extra for people with preexisting conditions.
But once Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R‑Wis.) got the votes he needed, he didn’t want to waste any time or let an economic analysis muck up his vote. Breaking with norms, Ryan and the Republican leadership rushed through the new version of their health care bill before the CBO had time to run the numbers. The bill narrowly passed the House in a 217 – 213 vote, with no support from Democrats. Three weeks later, the CBO’s numbers are finally out.
This is a breaking news story that will be updated. :http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/05/cbo-republican-health-bill-obamacare-repeal-preexisting-conditions
Now we see what ‘success’ means to the GOP. 23 million more people without health insurance, unaffordable premiums for people with preexisting conditions, all to save 2% of the military budget over 10 years. Seriously? The GOP would rather gut our healthcare than pony up $10B/year in medical costs? That’s insanity. Tell you what, cut 5% of the insane military budget and give us single payer!