Ahead of CBO Score, Trumpcare Already a Disaster

Tomorrow the Congressional Budget Office will release a new score on Trump’s disastrous health care legislation. The previous score showed that premiums would rise and 24 million Americans would lose their insurance. Since then, Trump has forced insurance costs to increase across the country and his proposed budget doubles down on some of the worst elements of Trumpcare.

 

On the eve of a new CBO score, here’s a look at some of the latest headlines:

 

Trump’s budget doubles down on the AHCA’s massive cut to Medicaid, slashing an additional $610 billion from the program.

 

Vox: “The cuts include: All $880 billion in Medicaid cuts included in the Republican health plan that has passed the House, plus $610 billion in additional cuts due to adopting an even stingier formula for increasing Medicaid funding year over year. This amounts to a total cut to Medicaid of over 47 percent.”

 

On top of cuts to offices charged with addressing addiction and the opioid crisis, Trump’s 47% cut to Medicaid could further jeopardize access to drug treatment programs.

 

Vox: “For one, the budget proposal slashes drug prevention programs across all federal agencies by about 11 percent — from about $1.5 billion to more than $1.3 billion…Trump also proposes 47 percent cuts to Medicaid over the next 10 years. This would rob millions of people of the one affordable source of health insurance that they have — to pay for, in part, drug treatment.”

 

Building on the AHCA’s assault on Planned Parenthood, which blocked Medicaid reimbursements, the Trump budget excludes it from all federal programs.

 

Huffington Post: “The freeze-out apparently goes beyond the House GOP’s plan, which excludes Planned Parenthood only from Medicaid reimbursements. Trump’s budget proposal bars the nation’s largest family planning provider from participating in any federal program, including cancer screening programs funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Zika virus prevention, HIV/AIDS testing and prevention, Violence Against Women Act grants to prevent sexual assault, maternal and child health programs and sexually transmitted disease and infertility prevention grants.”

 

The Trump administration continues to sabotage insurance markets by refusing to commit to continuing health care subsidies, which could cause an increase in health insurance costs.

 

Bloomberg: “President Donald Trump’s administration asked for another 90 days to resolve a lawsuit over subsidies that help poorer people afford to use their Obamacare insurance plans, further delaying a long-running legal fight that’s already destabilizing the health law … Without the payments, insurers have threatened to drop out of the Affordable Care Act’s markets or substantially raise premiums, and customers could face thousands of dollars in unexpected costs.”

 

CNBC: “Obamacare Rates Could Be Nearly 20 Percent Higher Next Year Just From Trump Administration Delay On Subsidy Case.”

 

And in a last-ditch effort to preempt the CBO’s projection for coverage losses, a Republican group launched an ad blitz defending the AHCA.

 

The Hill: “An outside GOP group aligned with Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) unveiled a $2 million TV ad blitz on Tuesday defending the legislation to replace ObamaCare ahead of the highly anticipated Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis of its effects. American Action Network’s ad will run in 21 House districts and nationally on MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe’ to tout the GOP’s bill, known as the American Health Care Act.”