Congressman Elijah Cummings (Md.) Issues Statement on New Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Report on Trump's Health Care Plan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 24, 2017

CONTACT: Jennifer Werner/Fabion Seaton
(202) 226-5181

Cummings Issues Statement on New CBO Report on TrumpCare
Link to CBO Report: https://www.cbo.gov/publication/52752

Washington, D.C. (May 24, 2017)—Today, Congressman Elijah E. Cummings (D-MD), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, issued the following statement after the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) issued its new report on TrumpCare:

“Today’s CBO report confirms yet again that TrumpCare would force tens of millions of Americans to lose their health insurance. Many more will have inadequate coverage at higher costs, particularly for older Americans and those with pre-existing conditions who may be priced out of coverage altogether.”

“What my Republican colleagues must remember is that these are not just numbers on a page. These are not just statistics in a report or estimates in a budget. These are real people and real families who will face daunting health crises and medical challenges. Ripping away their health insurance just to settle a political score is not only inhumane, but it will cause immeasurable pain for millions and millions of people across our nation.”

“The report highlights that this bill will affect Americans unevenly. Americans living in states that opt out of existing protections will be hardest hit. This week has made it clear that Republicans envision a health care system in America where your access to care is more dependent on your zip code than your need, and if you do not have the means to purchase care, there will be no safety net.

“Today’s CBO report comes just a day after President Trump issued his budget, which violates the President’s promise not to cut Medicaid or Social Security. These policies would be devastating for working class families in urban, suburban and rural communities—including those who voted for President Trump.”

The CBO report issued today estimates that the latest TrumpCare bill would:

• increase the number of Americans without health insurance by 23 million by 2026 (a total of 51 million people would be uninsured by 2026)
o 14 million by 2018 (total of 41 million)
o 19 million by 2020 (total of 46 million)
o 23 million by 2026 (total of 51 million)
• force 14 million Americans to lose their Medicaid by 2026 (a reduction of 17%)

The CBO report concluded: “Over time, it would become more difficult for less healthy people (including people with preexisting medical conditions) in those states to purchase insurance because their premiums would continue to increase rapidly.”

With respect to Essential Health Benefits (EHBs), CBO reported: “Services or benefits likely to be excluded from the EHBs in some states include maternity care, mental health and substance abuse benefits, rehabilitative and habilitative services, and pediatric dental benefits. In particular, out-of-pocket spending on maternity care and mental health and substance abuse services could increase by thousands of dollars in a given year for the nongroup enrollees who would use those services.”

Finally, the report stated: “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—despite the additional funding that would be available under H.R. 1628 to help reduce premiums.”