Levin Statement on CBO Score on GOP ACA Repeal Bill

WASHINGTON, June 4 -- Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich., issued the following news release:

Rep. Sander Levin (MI-09), Ranking Member of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health, today released the following statement in response to the updated report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) on the Republican legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act, the American Health Care Act:

"The updated CBO score continues to show huge numbers of Americans losing their health insurance under the Republican bill - 23 million by 2026. It also highlights that if you have a pre-existing condition, or if you are older, or if you have limited means, your premiums will be higher, and in some cases you may not be able to purchase insurance at all.

"New report, same basic result - declining coverage and rising costs. That's a terrible combination that deprives millions of Americans the ability to care for their health and therefore, their lives."

The full CBO report can be found here, below are key excerpts:

"CBO and JCT expect that, as a consequence, the waivers in those states would have another effect: Community-rated premiums would rise over time, and people who are less healthy (including those with preexisting or newly acquired medical conditions) would ultimately be unable to purchase comprehensive nongroup health insurance at premiums comparable to those under current law, if they could purchase it at all..." pg.5

"...some people enrolled in nongroup insurance would experience substantial increases in what they would spend on health care. People living in states modifying the EHBs who used services or benefits no longer included in the EHBs would experience substantial increases in out-of-pocket spending on health care or would choose to forgo the services." pg. 7

"For older people with lower income, net premiums would be much larger than under current law, on average..." pg. 20