health care
A Congressional Budget Office report won't be released on final health-care bill before vote
There will not be a score from the Congressional Budget Office released before Friday's vote on the latest version of the Republicans' health-care bill, Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, told reporters Thursday night.
Some of the changes to the original bill include the removal of items listed as essential health benefits under ObamaCare, like prescription drug coverage, doctors' services, pregnancy and childbirth, mental health services, and inpatient and outpatient hospital care. The CBO's original report estimated that the American Health Care Act would leave 52 million Americans uninsured by 2026 and reduce the federal deficit by $337 billion over 10 years; on Thursday, the updated CBO analysis said the number of uninsured would remain the same, but the deficit would be reduced by only $150 billion. The vote was postponed on Thursday just hours before it was set to take place, as GOP leadership struggled to get more conservative and moderate Republicans to vote yes on the bill.