Budget Office: GOP Bill Leaves Millions Uninsured

The House Republicans' health care bill would cost significantly less than the Democrats' plans and possibly lower the average cost of premiums, but it would leave millions uninsured, according to a report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

The 230-page GOP bill would reduce the number of uninsured in the United States by 3 million by 2019, according the CBO analysis (PDF). That would leave about 52 million nonelderly residents uninsured. The share of residents with insurance coverage would be about 83 percent, roughly what it is now.

The GOP bill insures about 33 million fewer people than the Democrats' bill.

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House Republican Leader John Boehner (pictured above) has said the his party is more interested in reducing costs than insuring all Americans. The GOP bill does come to a price tag of around $61 billion, according to the CBO -- nearly $1 trillion less than the Democrats' bill. The legislation could also result in lower average premiums for Americans in private plans; however, it adds that its estimates are "subject to an unusually high degree of uncertainty."

"Some provisions of the legislation would tend to decrease the premiums paid by all insurance enrollees, while other provisions would tend to increase the premiums paid by less healthy enrollees or would tend to increase the premiums paid by enrollees in some states relative to enrollees in other states," the CBO wrote. "As a result, some individuals and families within each market would see reductions in premiums that would be larger or smaller than the estimated average reductions, and some people would see increases."

The bill has no chance of passage in the Democrat-led Congress, so it could be perceived as more of a protest against the majority party's larger, more costly legislative package.

The GOP bill focuses on medical malpractice reform, allowing insurance to be sold across state lines, encouraging consumers to use health savings accounts and giving states incentives to drive down premium costs. It leaves out a number of major Democratic plans, such as blocking insurers from denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions. It also leaves out the individual mandate and the employer mandate.

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