CBO delays score as health care bill faces skepticism
WASHINGTON — The Congressional Budget Office has delayed its expected release of an analysis on the latest GOP health care bill, including estimated cost and scope of insurance coverage.
The Senate Budget Committee reported yesterday that the release, which had been expected today, was postponed. The committee did not indicate an explanation or when the analysis was expected, saying it will provide further information and updates as appropriate.
The CBO’s announcement comes after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he was delaying a highly anticipated Senate vote this coming week on the bill, after Sen. John McCain disclosed that he had undergone surgery. Doctors had advised McCain to recover in Arizona this week.
McConnell’s decision late Saturday came not long after McCain’s office disclosed that he had undergone surgery to remove a blood clot from above his left eye. He’s expected to be out for the week.
The No. 2 Senate GOP leader, John Cornyn of Texas, said he still expects the Senate to move quickly, holding a vote as soon as McCain returns. But amid growing public unease over the bill, some Republicans suggested the delay will make McConnell’s task of winning enough support even harder. In a Senate divided 52-48 between Republicans and Democrats, McConnell can lose no more than two GOP votes and still prevail.
“There are about eight to 10 Republican senators who have serious concerns about this bill. And so at the end of the day, I don’t know whether it will pass,” said moderate Sen. Susan Collins (RMaine). She has made clear she would vote against the bill, citing proposed cuts to the Medicaid health program for the poor and elderly.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who is also opposed, said doubts also are increasing among Republicans who want to see a fuller repeal. “The longer the bill’s out there, the more conservative Republicans are going to discover that it’s not repeal,” he said.
The White House said President Trump was “monitoring what’s going on with health care” but did not otherwise weigh in. “We wish Sen. McCain a speedy recovery,” a spokeswoman said.
McConnell last week had refashioned the legislation to attract additional GOP votes, with language letting insurers sell discount-policies with minimal coverage aimed at winning over conservatives, and revised funding formulas.