Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Republicans Should 'Throw Their Bill In The Trash Can,' Democrats Galvanized By CBO Analysis Say
Politico: Senate Dems Seize On CBO To Slam GOP
Senate Democrats on Wednesday seized on a new projection that 23 million more Americans would be uninsured under the House GOP’s Obamacare repeal to hammer the Republican senators now crafting their own plan. Led by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Democrats staged a fiery press conference less than 45 minutes after the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office released its report on the House-passed Obamacare repeal. Schumer argued that Senate Republicans are making a mistake similar to their House counterparts’ hasty passage of a bill before its CBO score emerged. (Schor, 5/24)
The Hill: Schumer: Republicans Should Throw Their Health Bill 'In The Trash'
Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (N.Y.) on Wednesday denounced the House-passed healthcare reform bill after an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) showed it would cause millions of Americans to lose health coverage. "Republicans in Washington and the president should read this report cover to cover, throw their bill in the trash can and begin working with Democrats on a real plan to lower costs for the American people,” Schumer said at a press conference held shortly after the CBO released its report. (Bolton, 5/24)
San Francisco Chronicle: CBO: House GOP Health Bill Would Leave 23 Million More Without Coverage
But Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., called the bill “nothing short of a disaster,” and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, took aim at provisions in the bill that the CBO said repeal $664 billion in taxes on high-income earners and insurers. “Trumpcare is a billionaire’s tax cut disguised as a health care bill: one of the largest transfers of wealth from working families to the rich in our history,” Pelosi said. (Lochhead, 5/24)
Chicago Tribune: Illinois Democrats Condemn Republican Health Care Plan Again After New Estimates Emerge
Illinois Democrats in Congress called House Republicans' health care plan approved this month a "disaster" and a "zombie bill" after a new analysis predicted it would mean 23 million more people will be uninsured by 2026. Democrats didn't vote for the plan and have used it to try to put political pressure on Republicans. The proposal is likely to change in the U.S. Senate. (Skiba, 5/24)
Denver Post: Colorado Republican Lawmakers React To Congressional Budget Office Score
Colorado lawmakers feuded Wednesday night over the release of a new report which estimated the Republican health care plan that passed the U.S. House in early May would lead to a loss of insurance for up to 23 million Americans by 2026. The analysis by the Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan government research group, also found the measure to replace the Affordable Care Act would reduce the federal deficit by $119 billion over the next 10 years while providing lower premiums for some consumers — as compared to a previous Republican proposal — though that decline would be driven by less robust insurance coverage. (Matthews and Ingold, 5/24)
Meanwhile, when it comes to 2018 attacks, the Democrats are torn on what to go after —
Politico: Health Care Or Russia? Democrats Divided On 2018 Focus
The Democratic Party is embroiled in a debate over where they should focus their efforts to win back political power: health care or Russia. The party’s campaign committees and many of Democrats’ leading super PACs have spent virtually all their energy this year on shaming Republicans for their push to repeal Obamacare, an issue that clearly touches voters’ daily lives. (Robillard and Schor, 5/24)
