Both were reacting to Wednesday’s updated analysis and report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Reps. Kathy Castor, D-Tampa, and Charlie Crist, D-St. Petersburg, blasted the American Health Care Act for depriving millions of health insurance.

They made their remarks after the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released an updated analysis and report of the effects of the AHCA. The AHCA, passed earlier this year by the U.S. House, seeks to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. It must now go before the U.S. Senate for approval.

The CBO found that the proposal would leave 23 million Americans without coverage by 2026 and would result in higher out-of-pocket costs – especially for those near retirement and with pre-existing conditions. The bill also cuts more than $800 billion from Medicaid, which 70 million children, seniors, individuals with disabilities, and low-income families depend on for care. The bill would also reduce the cumulative federal deficit over the 2017-2026 period by $119 billion. That amount is $32 billion less than the estimated net savings for the version of the bill that the House Committee on Rules posted on its website in March.

From Crist:

“The CBO score should once and for all put the nail in the coffin of this deadly bill. The number of people insured would plummet. The least among us would suffer while the wealthiest would prosper. It would cut the lifeline for the most vulnerable in our society – children, seniors, working families, and the disabled. And it eliminates protections for the millions and millions of Americans with pre-existing conditions.

“I hope this latest report makes my Republican colleagues reconsider their support for this cruel bill. Time wasted on it is time that should be spent moving forward, across party lines, to thoughtfully and responsibly improve our healthcare system to best serve the American people.”

From Castor:

“This is déjà-vu and worse — the impartial CBO just confirmed that at least 23 million Americans will lose health care coverage if Trumpcare becomes law, while wealthy special interests will reap the benefits.

“Trumpcare also will mean higher costs; it will gut key protections; crush seniors with an Age Tax; steal from Medicare; and end the basic help provided to Alzheimer’s patients and others people with disabilities. Trumpcare not only threatens the peace of mind and economic security of families, it threatens jobs for every state across the country.

“The CBO estimate shows that our senior neighbors would particularly bear the brunt of this reckless bill. In addition to increasing the number of uninsured broadly, Trumpcare would disproportionately increase the number of uninsured among older people — particularly people between 50 and 64 years old. Trumpcare’s cruelty does not stop there. It would dramatically change Medicaid, stripping $834 billion away from seniors, children, pregnant women and people with disabilities in order to give a nearly trillion dollar tax cut to the wealthiest few.

“House Republicans also traded away protections for hardworking Americans with pre-existing conditions, leaving them to be pushed off their insurance and forced into high risk pools with soaring costs and frightening limits on the care they need. The just released CBO score shows that this bill would lead some Americans with pre-existing conditions to no longer be able to afford coverage of any kind, leaving them with no options in the face of necessary medical care. Trumpcare also would gut the essential health benefits (EHBs) for millions of Americans; the CBO estimates it would lead to substantial increases in out-of-pocket spending on health care, potentially forcing Americans to choose whether to forgo those services. Gutting EHBs would also mean huge cost increases for basic coverage like maternity care, addiction and mental health treatment, and emergency services.

“Two months ago, Republicans tried to ram an earlier version of Trumpcare through the House without a single hearing and then traded consumer protections away with damaging changes to bring the right-wing tea party faction of the U.S. House on board. That time, it collapsed under its own weight by unmasking the huge tax breaks to wealthy special interests while raising costs for everyday Americans and weakening Medicare and Medicaid health services. This time, Republicans knew they had to pass Trumpcare before Americans knew just how bad the bill is, but with today’s release of the CBO score, now we do.

“It is not lost on me that, while you and I had to wait on pins and needles for the CBO score to know Trumpcare’s true, harmful impact, House Republicans did not wait because they knew, if the harmful impact was known, their attempt to rip insurance away from millions of Americans would meet a deservedly quick end. I encourage my colleagues in the U.S. Senate to scrap the outrageous Trumpcare bill passed by House Republicans and work with Democrats and anyone who cares about keeping their neighbors’ health care coverage and expanding that coverage.”

Crist represents the 13th Congressional District, which includes mid- and south Pinellas. Castor represents Florida’s 14th Congressional District, which includes Tampa.

For information about Crist, go to crist.house.gov.

For information about Castor, go to castor.house.gov.

To read the CBO report, click here.

Charlie Crist | Kathy Castor | Health Care | American Health Care Act | Affordable Care Act | Trumpcare | Politics | Tampa Bay News | TB Reporter

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