The Congressional Budget Office projects that the Senate health care bill would increase the number of uninsured Americans by 22 million in 2026 — a figure that both sides in the debate are distorting.
Spinning the CBO Insurance Estimate
Issues: Health Watch
Rand Paul’s Subsidies Twist
Sen. Rand Paul, who opposes the Senate health care bill, says subsidies “are actually greater under the Republican bill than they are under the current Obamacare law.” But the CBO says the average subsidy under the bill would be “significantly lower than the average subsidy under current law.”
Pelosi’s Partisan Pick on Jobs Analysis
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi cites research from two partisan groups to claim that the Republican health care bill would result in the loss of 1.8 million jobs by 2022. But a recent independent study put the expected job loss at 413,000 by that year.
Preexisting Condition Spin
Opponents of the Republican House health care bill are claiming its provisions on preexisting conditions reach further than they actually do.
Pence Misleads on Premiums
Vice President Mike Pence went too far in claiming that a new report showed that “the average premium across this country has actually doubled under Obamacare.”
GOP Bill and Sexual Assault
Q: Are sexual assault and rape preexisting conditions under the GOP health bill?
A: No. The bill doesn’t identify any preexisting conditions, and it says insurers can’t deny coverage to individuals who have them. But insurers could charge more for medical conditions in certain cases.
The 24 Million Talking Point
Democrats say the House Republican health care bill would throw 24 million people off their health insurance. But the Congressional Budget Office said that figure includes some who would choose not to have insurance and some who would have had coverage in the future under current law.
Republican Health Care Spin
Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price and House Speaker Paul Ryan engaged in partisan spin in talking about the Republican health care bill that was passed by the House last week.
Is Congress Exempt from GOP Health Bill?
Q: Does the new GOP health care bill apply to members of Congress and their families?
A: For procedural reasons, the bill passed by House Republicans exempted lawmakers from some of its effects. But a stand-alone bill passed unanimously would do away with that exemption if the legislation becomes law.
The Preexisting Conditions Debate
Democrats and Republicans have made competing claims on whether the latest version of the GOP health care bill maintains protections for people with preexisting medical conditions. We’ll go through what the legislation now proposes on this issue.