Press Releases

Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) today released the following statement after the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) scored Republican’s healthcare repeal bill:

“While some may use ‘alternative facts,’ my constituents and I live in reality. And there is no denying that the CBO score confirms this is a dangerous and irresponsible bill that threatens to destabilize our nation’s healthcare system, rob millions of Americans of their health insurance and raise costs for middle-class families, seniors, women and people with disabilities,” DelBene said. “House Republicans are clearly trying to jam this bill through because they know they can’t justify the numbers to the American people. Instead of building upon the reforms we’ve already made to expand coverage and reduce costs, Republicans are forcing people to pay more for less.”

The CBO revealed that the Republican bill would cause 24 million Americans to lose health coverage in the next decade – 14 million within just the first year of implementation. It would also cause insurance premiums to increase by 15-20 percent and cuts premium tax assistance for middle-class families in half.

In addition to hiking co-pays and deductibles for middle-class families, the Republican bill gives a $7 million tax break to each of the 400 wealthiest American households, guts benefits and protections for seniors, defunds Planned Parenthood and cuts funding for Medicaid by more than $880 billion. This would force states to assume massive costs, or else begin rationing healthcare for 63 million children, pregnant women, seniors and people with disabilities.

DelBene serves on the House Ways and Means Committee. Last week, Republicans insisted on marking up their bill and passing it out of committee before receiving the CBO score. This week, the House Budget Committee, of which DelBene is also a member, will consider the bill before it would head to the House floor.

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