What Is The Congressional Budget Office? Obamacare Repeal May Cost More Than CBO Estimate

A Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report on Republican replacement of Obamacare revealed that the number of people without health insurance will grow by 14 million in 2018, rising to 24 million over the next 10 years. The figures wrecked havoc on the government’s plan, but a new report shows that a White House analysis of the GOP plan had estimated an even higher number.

While the White House has been looking to raise questions about the figures released by CBO, its own analysis stated that 26 million people would lose their insurance coverage over the next decade, according to a document obtained by Politico. The White House, however, said that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) was just attempting to predict the CBO score with its analysis.

Read: 24 Million People Will Lose Health Insurance Under Republican Health Plan, According To CBO

“This is not an analysis of the bill in any way whatsoever,” White House Communications Director Michael Dubke told Politico. “This is OMB trying to project what CBO’s score will be using CBO’s methodology.”

CBO is a nonpartisan federal agency that conducts “independent analyses of budgetary and economic issues to support the Congressional budget process.” Established in 1974, CBO’s economists and budget analysts look into proposed legislation for cost estimates to support the Congressional budget process. The agency, however, does not make policy recommendations.

The Republican plan, titled the American Health Care Act, has been under attack by the Democrats, as well as members of the GOP, but the release of the CBO analysis casts a further shadow on the bill’s future ahead of a possible vote in the House next week.

“The CBO’s estimate makes clear that TrumpCare will cause serious harm to millions of American families,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement Monday. “Tens of millions will lose their coverage, and millions more, particularly seniors, will have to pay more for health care. The CBO score shows just how empty the president’s promises, that everyone will be covered and costs will go down, have been.”

Republican senators, however, say that the CBO report could lead to some changes in the House bill, but not an outright rejection. Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham told reporters, “At the end of the day we should pause and try to improve the product in the light of the CBO analysis rather than just rejecting it.”

President Donald Trump’s administration went a step ahead to slam the CBO report and Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price told reporters at the White House: “We disagree strenuously with the report that was put out.”