NCHR Statement in Response to CBO Score for Senate Health bill

Tell me more about the bill

In its current form, over time the bill will:

• Devastate Medicaid and make insurance coverage unaffordable to millions: it would reduce/deny health care to millions of Americans, especially people over 50, those that are working- or middle-class, and people with disabilities including addictions requiring treatment. States would have unsustainable costs passed along to them by the federal government, resulting in tax increases or cuts in education and other services.
• Change what’s considered essential to your health: States would be permitted to change or determine what qualifies as an essential health benefit. This would be life-threatening to many patients and create confusion and inequality throughout the health care system.
• Result in higher premiums and co-pays for most Americans: because it does not include a requirement or any incentives for healthy Americans to buy health insurance.  When healthier people don’t buy insurance, that increases the price of insurance for everyone who does buy it.
• Who Benefits? The CBO says the proposed legislation would save billions of dollars, but the GOP has made it clear that they will use that savings to reduce the taxes on the wealthiest Americans. It’s reverse Robin Hood: reduce healthcare for middle class and poorer Americans and use the savings to cut taxes to corporations and the richest Americans.

This legislation will unleash a slowly unwinding health care catastrophe.