The Congressional Budget Office could release its initial projections on the Republicans’ plan to repeal and replace Obamacare as soon as Monday — and President Trump‘s party is bracing for some bad news.
Debate over the legislation has been contentious — Democrats are vehemently opposed and even some Republicans are wary — but the report likely will not make things any easier. In its analysis of the bill’s cost and impact, the nonpartisan CBO is expected to predict that millions of Americans who have coverage under the Affordable Care Act will lose their insurance.
Republicans are already playing defense, trying to discredit the report — and Congress’ official scorekeeper — before it even comes out. House Speaker Paul Ryan said Sunday that the report likely will say people lose insurance, but only because people will be able to choose whether they want coverage or not.
“The one thing I’m certain will happen is CBO will say, ‘Well, gosh. Not as many people will get coverage,’” he said on CBS. “You know why? Because this isn’t a government mandate”
The Director the Office of Management and Budget, Mick Mulvaney, said in an interview Sunday that the CBO was wrong about the Affordable Care Act and analyzing this bill probably “isn’t the best use of their time” — even though such analysis is the CBO’s primary function.