WASHINGTON – The report from the Congressional Budget Office had barely hit the desks of Washington lawmakers before opponents of the Senate Republican health care bill in Ohio weighed in with more criticism and centrist and conservative Republicans reached for their barge poles.
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Congress’ nonpartisan budget referee says the bill would leave 22 million additional people uninsured in 2026 compared to President Barack Obama’s law.
Republican Gov. John Kasich repeated his concerns about planned cuts to Medicaid expansion.
Gov. John Kasich on the CBO score for the U.S. Senate’s health care proposal:
Read more here: https://t.co/L1Cljvm3vA pic.twitter.com/Ww4uxKtjvt— John Kasich (@JohnKasich) June 26, 2017
UPDATE: Republican Sen. Rob Portman announced Tuesday afternoon (3:53 p.m.), after a vote on the measure was pistponed, that he opposed the bill, citing concerns about Medicaid policies.
“For months, I have engaged with my colleagues on solutions that I believe are necessary to ensure that we improve our health care system and better combat this opioid epidemic. Unfortunately, the Senate draft falls short and therefore I cannot support it in its current form.” –Sen. Rob Portman
Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown said the GOP plan would raise premiums by 20 percent next year and result in higher out-of-pocket costs for patients, disproportionately affecting older people with lower income.
Brown decried the bill’s plan to cut Medicaid expansion and the CBO’s estimate that the bill contains what he called a $25.7 billion tax cut for the pharmaceutical industry.
“The report only underscores what we already know: this bill hurts working families and raises prices on Ohioans. It hands billions of dollars in tax breaks to the very same drug companies that have price gouged Ohioans and contributed to the opioid epidemic, while taking away Ohio’s number one tool to fight back. Instead of jamming through a bill written in secret by insurance company CEOs, we should be working together to lower costs and make healthcare work better for everyone.” –Sen. Sherrod Brown
Medicaid, the federal-state program for low-income people, has grown to become a mainstay in local communities, providing financing for hospitals, nursing homes, insurers, and now drug treatment centers confronting the opioid epidemic, which is the source of concern for both Kasich and Brown and Portman.
With about 70 million Medicaid recipients, it covers more people than Medicare, and slashing its budget could result in the loss of over 80,000 jobs in the Ohio health care industry, one of the largest sectors of the state’s economy.
“And, these aren’t just any jobs,” says Sandy Theis, executive director of ProgressOhio, in an interview for Perspective. “These are good-paying, family-sustaining jobs that have benefits…and that [health care] is the only continually strong growth sector in our state.”
Not only Democrats and progressives, but also Republicans from Sen. Susan Collins of Maine to Gov. Doug Ducey of Arizona have expressed misgivings.
The nonpartisan National Association of Medicaid Directors says the Senate bill is unworkable, “a transfer of risk, responsibility, and cost.”
Many GOP senators distanced themselves from the plan even as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell tries to push the bill through by the end of the week.
The Kentucky Republican was hoping to staunch his party’s rebellion on Tuesday, a day after the Congressional Budget Office released its report. He plans to suggest revisions to the legislation in hopes of rounding up votes.