Senator Toomey’s version of Trumpcare was scored by the CBO yesterday and the results were worse than than we thought. Despite Toomey’s claims that no one would lose coverage, the non-partisan CBO determined that 22 million Americans would lose health care coverage and over $772 billion would be slashed from Medicaid which would force seniors out of their nursing homes and strip coverage away from people suffering from the disease of addiction in the midst of the opioid crisis. Newspapers across the country took Toomey to task for lying to his constituents so he could give tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires.
Check out the coverage:
Business Insider: The CBO has debunked a key Republican talking point on the Senate health bill
Despite Toomey’s statement, the BCRA phases out the Medicaid expansion over several years beginning in 2021, with the idea that those who fall out of Medicaid eligibility will access coverage through the individual insurance market. The CBO threw cold water on both the talking point that the BCRA doesn’t end the expansion or cut Medicaid funding. The CBO’s analysis found that 22 million fewer people would have insurance under the bill by 2026. Cuts to Medicaid would reach $772 billion by 2026.
Washington Post: It’s official: The Senate health-care bill is about cutting Medicaid
Defenders of the bill proposed by Senate Republicans last week spent some time on television over the weekend arguing that the effect of the bill, titled the Better Care Reconciliation Act, was not to cut Medicaid spending. Sen. Patrick J. Toomey (R-Pa.) went on CBS to argue that the expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act was preserved; White House counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that the Senate bill was not a cut to Medicaid. On Monday, the Congressional Budget Office released its nonpartisan analysis of the Senate proposal. Not only does that analysis make clear that the Senate proposal includes significant cuts to Medicaid spending, it also demonstrates that the Senate bill is more reliant on Medicaid cuts than even the House bill that President Trump called “mean.”
Newsworks: Here’s why Republicans could nix health coverage for 22,000,000
The CBO says that, under the Senate Republican bill, many people would face “substantial increases in what they would spend on health care.” The premiums might be lower; however, “because nongroup insurance would pay for a smaller average share of benefits under this legislation, most people purchasing it would have higher out-of-pocket spending on health care than under current law.” But donors in the Koch brothers club don’t concern themselves with such details, and their senate toadies are fine with lying their behalf. (Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey, on CBS News two days ago, talking about Medicaid: “Nobody loses coverage.” How fitting that he said this on George Orwell’s birthday.)
Philly.com: Senate health plan will increase uninsured by 22 million, CBO says
The Republican health plan speeding toward a vote as early as this week would increase the number of uninsured people by 22 million by 2026, the Congressional Budget Office estimated Monday, delivering a projection that immediately weighed on the unfolding debate and wavering senators. The report from Congress’ nonpartisan scorekeeper also estimated that the Senate plan to overhaul the Affordable Care Act would reduce the federal deficit by $321 billion over the next decade. The savings come largely from slashing expected Medicaid spending by $772 billion.
Slate: The GOP Can Only Defend Itself by Lying
That was the spectacle on Sunday morning when Republican advocates didn’t defend the plan as much as they lied about its contents. On CBS’ Face the Nation (where I contribute analysis), for example, host John Dickerson pressed Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania—one of 13 architects of the proposal—on those Medicaid cuts. “The Senate bill will codify and make permanent the Medicaid expansion,” replied Toomey. “And, in fact, we will have the federal government pay the lion’s share of the cost. … No one loses coverage.” Only the thinnest bit of legalese keeps this statement from being an out-and-out lie. It is true the Senate bill doesn’t formally end the expansion. What it does instead is reduce the overall Medicaid funding stream.