An updated analysis of Trumpcare by the bipartisan Congressional Budget Office was released on Thursday, and it found that the GOP health care plan would be even more catastrophic for the country than originally thought.
Not only would Donald Trump and the Republicans kick 24 million Americans off their health insurance policies – roughly the same as originally estimated – but it would cost even more than the CBO initially found.
More from the updated CBO analysis:
CBO and JCT estimate that, in 2018, 14 million more people would be uninsured under the legislation than under current law. The increase in the number of uninsured people relative to the number under current law would reach 21 million in 2020 and 24 million in 2026 (see Table 4). In 2026, an estimated 52 million people under age 65 would be uninsured, compared with 28 million who would lack insurance that year under current law.
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While the number of Americans without insurance under the GOP plan remains relatively the same as the original CBO analysis, it would cost even more than the organization’s first estimate found:
On March, 13, 2017, CBO and JCT estimated that enacting the reconciliation recommendations of the House Committee on Ways and Means and the House Committee on Energy and Commerce (which were combined into H.R. 1628) would yield a net reduction in federal deficits of $337 billion over the 2017-2026 period. CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1628, with the proposed amendments, would save $186 billion less over that period.
So if you’re keeping score at home, Trumpcare will cost more than initial estimates – and none of the cost increases will go toward covering the 24 million Americans that will lose health insurance under the new plan.
The release of the new CBO score came as Republicans delayed a vote on the unpopular legislation because the self-proclaimed deal-maker-in-chief couldn’t convince members of his own party to support the plan.
Trumpcare was political suicide before, and it remains political suicide at this hour as the GOP works tirelessly to make sure fewer Americans have access to health care.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
