CBO Report Shows GOP Repeal Would Increase the Deficit by $109 Billion

WASHINGTON, DC – Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Rep. Sander Levin (D-MI) and Health Subcommittee Ranking Member Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) released the following statement in response to the latest health reform analyses published today by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). CBO’s analyses confirm that, if some Republican governors refuse to accept federal Medicaid funds, millions of the nation’s most vulnerable individuals who qualify for coverage will remain uninsured.

The second CBO report highlights that the repeal drive from House Republicans would increase the deficit by $109 billion, increase premiums for people with employer-sponsored coverage and increase costs for those in the non-group market, eliminate key consumer protections, and dramatically increase Medicare spending. In addition, repeal would actually decrease the percentage of insured Americans relative to today. According to CBO, 82 percent of Americans are currently covered, while 92 percent would be covered by 2022 under reform. Under repeal, CBO projects that number to drop to 81 percent – below even today’s level.

Rep. Levin: Today’s report from CBO underscores what Democrats and independent sources have been saying all along: the Affordable Care Act reduces the deficit while the Republican repeal plan would increase the deficit by $109 billion and increases the number of uninsured Americans by 30 million. The Republican silence on their own health care alternative tells Americans all they need to know – they’re on their own.

I urge all governors to step up to their responsibility and stop playing politics with the health of the neediest Americans. They owe it to the people of their state to do so. If governors choose ideology over what’s best for the people in their states, then they ought to be shown the door in the following election.

Rep. Stark: The CBO's analysis today suggests that 4 million people who would otherwise be covered will remain uninsured in 2014 if some of our nation’s Governors continue to play politics. Those who refuse federal Medicaid funds will do a great disservice to the health of their most vulnerable citizens. Meanwhile, Republicans have no plans to control costs or expand coverage; they only want to repeal the health reform law. As CBO shows, repeal will increase the deficit by $109 billion and result in more uninsured Americans than exist today.

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