Democrats: CBO Reveals 5 Bad Things in GOP Healthcare Plan

Democrats reacted to the Congressional Budget Office assessment of Senate Republicans' healthcare bill with an email that outlines five major reasons why it feels the bill would be bad for America.

Under the heading, "CBO Score of Trumpcare: 5 Key Things To Know," an email from the Senate Democrats bashes the Better Care Reconciliation Act as legislation that will raise healthcare costs for seniors and will penalize people with preexisting conditions.

A brief look at the Democrats' arguments:

• The bill is bad for older Americans. "The BCRA would leave seniors paying much more for the same coverage they have under the Affordable Care Act."
• Medicaid takes hits. "Over the next ten years, the bill cuts $772 billion from Medicaid and kicks 15 million Medicaid enrollees off of their insurance."
• Preexisting conditions are weighed. "Under Trumpcare, states and insurers can elect to not cover essential health benefits, like prescription drug coverage, maternity care, mental health care or substance abuse treatment."
• Low-income Americans would face high costs. "The ACA includes provisions to ensure that premiums, co-pays and deductibles remain affordable for low-income people that do not have much to spend on their healthcare. Trumpcare turns the table on these people, and CBO finds that the bill would make deductibles and premiums so high that 'few low-income people would purchase any plan.'"
• Health insurance companies would benefit. "The Affordable Care Act included a provision that said for every dollar insurance companies received in healthcare premiums, they had to spend at least 80 cents on healthcare for enrollees, also known as the 80/20 rule. The BCRA repeals these minimum Medical Loss Ratio provisions, allowing states to set their own standards."

Democrats have trashed the Better Care Reconciliation Act ever since it was made public last week. Republican leaders are hoping to garner enough support for it to put it up for a floor vote by Thursday.

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