I’ll keep posting more statements here as I see them…
Congressman A. Donald McEachin (VA-04) released the following statement after the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) posted its updated report on the latest iteration of the American Health Care Act:
“This latest CBO report settles what we already knew: in its amended form, the AHCA will cause more than 20 million Americans to lose coverage. It will still impose an unfair age tax, allowing insurance companies to charge older Americans five times as much. It will still force families to spend thousands more per year for the same coverage they have today. It will do all of this in order to give the wealthiest Americans a $600 billion tax break.
“The latest version of the bill is even worse. There are new provisions that will allow insurers to discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions and charge them higher premiums. According to the Kaiser Foundation, one in four Virginians has a pre-existing condition; this bill does not serve Virginia. The AHCA will allow states to undo requirements that insurers cover essential health benefits — such as maternity and newborn care, and ambulance services. It would also cap the amount states are reimbursed for Medicaid — pulling the rug out from under millions of Americans who most need the help.
“The latest Frankensteined version of this bill, like its predecessor, is unacceptable. I know the American public will take note and remember how their Representatives voted when their names next appear on a ballot.”
Ranking Member Bobby Scott (VA-03) issued the following statement after the Congressional Budget Office announced that 23 million more Americans would be uninsured under Trumpcare, which passed the House of Representatives earlier this month.
“Three weeks ago, Republicans rushed to vote on a health care bill without a score from the Congressional Budget Office. Today, the CBO reasserts what we already knew to be true – under Trumpcare, millions of Americans would lose coverage, millions more would see their health care costs rise, and others will see their insurance policies cover less. With an age tax, cuts to subsidies, and tax breaks for millionaires, Trumpcare prioritizes the wealthiest Americans at the expense of working families and older Americans. The CBO has again separated press releases and sound bites from reality and confirmed that Trumpcare hurts American families.”
Today, U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee, released a statement on the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) updated cost estimate of the Republican health care plan:
“President Trump made three very clear promises that under a Republican bill no one would lose coverage, premiums wouldn’t rise, and Americans with pre-existing conditions wouldn’t lose protections. Today’s CBO score confirms again that the Republicans’ TrumpCare bill breaks those promises. Twenty-three million Americans would lose their health insurance by 2026, 14 million fewer people would have Medicaid coverage, and markets would become unstable for one-sixth of the population by 2020. These aren’t just numbers; this bill would cause families in Virginia to lose health insurance. This comes one day after we saw President Trump break his promise not to cut Medicaid by proposing a budget that would slash this critical program, which provides health care for more than one million Virginians, including nearly 600,000 kids. We have to hold President Trump to his promises or Virginians will be stuck with the painful consequences. I hope my Republican colleagues in the Senate will drop their backroom efforts to pass a bill without input from patients and providers, and instead bring Democrats to the table so we can make bipartisan improvements to the nation’s health care system.”
Sen. Mark Warner: “I’ve got a dozen-plus ideas for how we can fix the ACA, but taking health coverage from 23 million Americans and driving up the cost of premiums for millions more is not the answer. Even worse: Trumpcare still leaves millions of people with pre-existing conditions out in the cold.”
Rep. Gerry Connolly Statement on CBO’s Score of Republican Health Care Bill
“CBO confirms what we already knew: the GOP health care bill is still a bad bill.”
Washington, D.C. – Congressman Gerry Connolly (D-VA) released the following statement on the Congressional Budget Office’s score of the Republican health care bill:
“The CBO confirms what we already knew: the GOP health care bill is still a bad bill. It kicks 23 million people off health care by 2026 and leaves consumers at the mercy of insurance companies when it comes to pre-existing conditions. CBO even confirms that essential services covered under Obamacare including maternity care, mental health and substance abuse benefits would be excluded from some states.”
Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA 09): Later today, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) is expected to come out with their updated score to the American Health Care Act (AHCA).
Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) said, “As I have told many people regarding the original scoring, I do not have confidence in the scoring of CBO. So whether the score shows improvement or not, I stand by my previous position. This is not to say that a CBO score is not a benchmark to be reviewed, but because of the methodology they generally use, I believe they often come up with erroneous conclusions.”
“For example, the CBO score of Obamacare projected 22.9 million people would be enrolled in the exchanges by 2017, however in actuality we saw 11.4 million. CBO projected the cost per person to be about $3,100 in 2017, but it’s actually more than $4,450.”
“Furthermore, when the U.S. government proposed selling off some wireless spectrum, the CBO scored it at 0, meaning it would generate no revenue. The sale actually brought in 40 billion dollars.”
Tom Perriello: “Total disaster. Would harm countless families in Virginia and across America. This bill must be stopped…This is what’s at stake in Virginia this year. @EdWGillespie said he’s open to these waivers. I’m not. Ed needs to answer for this…If @EdWGillespie gets the waivers he said he’s open to, insurance companies in VA could essentially stop covering those who need care most…Periodic reminder that, right after Rs passed a disastrous bill to rip insurance away from 23M and raise premiums 20% next yr, they laughed…Confirmed: GOP leaders and @realDonaldTrump are trying to crush health care for 23 million Americans—including untold numbers of Virginians.”
Ralph Northam: “This is unacceptable, and it breaks every healthcare promise @POTUS made to the American people…What concerns me most about this healthcare plan is just how proud Republicans seem to be of it. How can you stand by this, @EdWGillespie?”
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