Congressional Budget Office Releases Analysis Of Republican Health Care Plan
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WASHINGTON (CBSMiami/AP) — The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) believes 14 million more people would lose coverage under the GOP's legislation than the current law.
The White House says it disagrees "strenuously" with a budget analysis of the Republican health care plan.
Health Secretary Tom Price says it will cover more individuals and lower costs.
Congress' nonpartisan budget analysts projected Monday that 14 million Americans would lose coverage next year under House Republican legislation remaking the nation's health care system. The Congressional Budget says that figure would grow to 24 million by 2026.
But Price says the administration disagrees "strenuously with the report that was put out."
Price complained the CBO only looked at the House bill, and not the two other parts of their three-phase plan.
As for the estimate that 14 million people would lose coverage, he says, "It's just not believable is what we would suggest."
The projections give fuel to opponents who warn the measure would toss millions of voters off insurance plans.
Criticism has come from Democrats, Republicans from states that benefit from Obama's law and many corners of the health-care industry.
President Donald Trump backs the GOP plan.
Republican leaders have said their aim is to lower costs. They say coverage statistics are misleading because many people covered under Obama's law have high out-of-pocket costs that make health care unaffordable.
According to the CBO analysis, the legislation would reduce federal deficits by $337 billion over the next decade, with the largest savings coming from reductions in Medicaid outlays and the reduction of Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies.
(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)