Paul Ryan on CBO Report: Numbers Will Naturally Drop When Mandates End

House Speaker Paul Ryan is taking issue with a Congressional Budget Report showing the Senate's healthcare reform plan will leave 22 million without coverage, saying the numbers would naturally drop when people are no longer mandated to buy coverage.

"What they are basically saying at the Congressional Budget Office is if you are not going to force people to buy Obamacare, if you are not going to force people to buy something they don't want, then they won't buy it," Ryan told Fox News' "Fox & Friends" co-host Brian Kilmeade in an interview recorded Monday and airing Tuesday.

Further, he insisted that it 's "not that people are getting pushed off the plan," but it's "that people will choose not to buy something they don't like or want, and that's the difference here."

According to the CBO's report, issued Monday afternoon, the 22 million additional people left without coverage under the Senate proposal is only slightly better than the 23 million left uninsured under a measure approved in the House in May.

The CBO said that out of the 22 million it estimates will lose coverage under the Senate bill, 15 million will not have insurance next year.

Ryan on Tuesday said part of those numbers are because under the plans, states won't be expanding Medicaid coverage.

"If states don't expand Medicaid in the future, then fewer people will go on Medicaid," said Ryan.

The whole point of the House bill, the speaker continued, is to lower premiums.

"We have been hit with double-digit premium increases in Obamacare, which is one of the reasons why people are paying the penalty and not even buying the insurance," said Ryan. "[It's] one of the reasons why the system is in a collapse right now. The key is to give people more choices, have more competition. Bring premiums down.

"That's why this bill and the CBO even says so. We'll bring premiums down so families can afford the coverage."

Meanwhile, the left is "out of gas" when it comes to resisting Republican efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare, the speaker said.

"They basically decide to resist, resist, resist," said Ryan. "They want government-run healthcare. It's collapsing while we speak. It's not working. We are replacing it with a law that will actually work. Anthem Blue Cross, Blue Shield says if you pass this law, it will bring down prices."

The reform legislation is the "biggest signature issue" Republicans have, and the largest promise "we have ever made in the modern era," Ryan also said.

"We said if we get elected, we will repeal and replace Obamacare," he said. "We did this in the House. It's now the Senate's turn. I think they will do it."

Ryan on Monday told the Washington Examiner that he believes Americans will reward Republicans during the 2018 midterm elections for pushing through their healthcare agenda.

"The Democrats are in disarray. All they're doing is suggesting they're going to come and fight and resist, and I don't think that's what voters want," Ryan said.

"We just saw four victories for tackling problems and addressing issues, and four defeats for just simple resistance — and that was the basis of their campaign."

Republicans also should not be concerned about public opposition in 2018, considering President Donald Trump will still be in the House, the Wisconsin Republican said.

"Whether or not we can communicate in the fog of the moment is not as important as: Do our policies make a difference and do they solve the problem?" he told the Examiner. "The answer is, 'yes.' And, that's why we have to see it through."

Meanwhile, the House has passed 158 bills, with 37 laws signed into law by President Trump, and Ryan told Fox News the House is well on its way to help improve people's lives.

"The day Jim Comey was testifying in the Senate, that's all anybody paid attention to, but we repealed and replaced Dodd/Frank," said Ryan. "This week, we are doing medical liability reform, two immigration bills, Kate's Law, sanctuary cities."

When asked to grade Trump, Ryan said he doesn't do letter grades, but he thinks the president is "doing fine."

"The key is, don't get distracted," said Ryan. "I'm not saying he is distracted . . . in Congress, we are focused on doing our jobs. Most of the media want to focus on investigations. Those are important and getting done. They don't incapacitate us. "