The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office on Wednesday released a cost estimate of Senate Republicans' latest health-care plan: to repeal ObamaCare now, but replace it later. The CBO score revealed that under that proposal, an additional 32 million would be uninsured by 2026 compared to under ObamaCare. The plan would reduce the federal deficit by $473 billion over the next decade.
Under the Senate GOP's previous proposal — to repeal ObamaCare and replace it immediately, via the Better Care Reconciliation Act — the CBO estimated 22 million more people would be uninsured by 2026 compared to ObamaCare. That bill would have reduced the federal deficit by $321 billion.
The CBO also found that average premiums for the nongroup market would jump by an estimated 25 percent next year under the repeal-and-delay plan compared to under ObamaCare. On average, premiums would double by 2026. The CBO warned that repeal-and-delay "would destabilize the [individual insurance] market, and the effect would worsen over time."
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) plans to hold a vote next week on repeal-and-delay, though three GOP senators — enough to kill the effort — have already indicated their opposition. Republicans are holding a last-minute health-care meeting for hesitant senators Wednesday evening.