And as Republicans pop champagne and congratulate themselves for being marginally less "mean" (as the Donald put it) on this iteration of the bill, bear in mind that …
… the CBO only scores out ten years. The Senate version of the AHCA cuts folks off the rolls a bit later, but cuts deeper into Medicaid budgets beyond that 10-year period.
… and, of course, by turning Medicaid into a slowly strangled block grant, the states get to figure out who being death-paneled out of medical care. That should be very encouraging for folk who live in those deep red states.
… and, of course, even for those who are still graced with insurance coverage through their employers or in the steadily ratcheted-down pool of Medicaid money, that insurance will certainly cover less than it was required to cover under the ACA, as "Essential Health Benefits" can be waived by states who don't think prescription coverage or hospitalization or maternity costs or mental health are fitting (or, cough, affordable) to their citizens.
But, hey, a lot of rich people are going to save a few buckets of money in tax cuts, so three cheers and a tiger!
Originally shared by +NBC News:
The Senate health care bill would insure 22 million fewer people after a decade than current law, according to an analysis Monday by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office.
It would save $321 billion in the same period overall by spending $1 trillion less on health care and using the savings to repeal the Affordable Care Act’s taxes, which primarily benefit wealthy individuals and medical companies.
CBO: Senate health care bill would leave 22 million more uninsured
Congressional Budget Office estimates that 22 million more Americans would be without health insurance under Senate bill by 2026 than under current law.
Hate to say it, but the bill is probably going to pass.
Well, I keep seeing a lot of headlines saying it "in big trouble" — but they said that about the House Bill, too, and that got resolved by throwing a bit of ad hoc money at an inadequate fund to cover high-risk pools.
I'm sure the specific issues that lynchpin Senators (particularly "moderate" ones) have can be similarly addressed by one-off gestures that can be gotten rid of quietly at a future date.