Health Care Replacement Gets CBO Score

The disputed health care repeal bill pushed by Republican congress members received an updated review from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, three weeks after it was put to a vote.
The CBO score revealed 23 million people would lose insurance within the next decade thanks to the American health Care Act.
“In 2026, an estimated 51 million people under age 65 would be uninsured, compared with 28 million who would lack insurance that year under [Obamacare],” read the report.

CBO’s big findings, in chart form, from @haeyoun and @KevinQ https://t.co/HGZFUSY29x pic.twitter.com/Hg9t7dftsp

— Margot Sanger-Katz (@sangerkatz) May 24, 2017

The proposed bill would cause a reduction in the federal budget by $119 billion over the next decade. “That is $32 billion less in net savings projected to be achieved under an earlier version of the bill,” per CNBC.

Response from top GOP members

Health Human Services Secretary Tom Price attacked the CBO score following its reveal.
“The CBO was wrong when they analyzed Obamacare’s effect on cost and coverage, and they are wrong again,” Price said in a statement.
On the other hand, House Speaker Paul Ryan seemed content with the results.
“This CBO report again confirms that the American Health Care Act achieves our mission: lowering premiums and lowering the deficit,” the speaker said in a statement following the announcement.
A CBO score is used as a template for the reach and impact of any proposed bill from the US Congress. Back in [date] members of the house re-introduced a new version of the Obamacare-repeal and forced a vote on the floor despite not having a revised score.
Earlier in May, the vote on the bill narrowly moved it up to the Senate, where it’s expected to undergo substantial changes to its most problematic elements. It was revealed some congress members voted on the bill despite not reading it entirely.
The decision to push through this legislation without an official score appeared odd and inappropriate to Democratic members of congress.

Investor Takeaway

Despite the presidency, control of both Senate and Congress, Republicans can’t seem to put together a viable bill to complete a repeal promise on Obamacare. It seems likely the path to tax reform will also be rocky and many analysts have already expressed doubt in the capability of this administration to pass this crucial amendment.
The CBO score also reveals how rushed the bill was and how much work GOP senators have ahead to get a bill that would prevent these heavy losses in insurance.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Bryan Mc Govern, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.