What to watch for in new healthcare score

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The Congressional Budget Office on Wednesday is slated to release its analysis of the GOP bill to repeal and replace ObamaCare — the very analysis that House Republicans declined to wait for when pushing the bill through their chamber in early May.

The score from the nonpartisan scorekeeper could shake up the healthcare debate, particularly if the late changes made by House Republicans have significantly altered the projections.

Senators are working to rewrite the healthcare bill to address some of the issues raised by the CBO in March and will be looking to the new analysis to guide them on the path forward.

Here’s what to watch for when the CBO score is released.

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http://thehill.com/news-by-subject/healthcare/334824-what-to-watch-for-in-new-healthcare-score

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1. bill has to save 2 billion over 10 years to pass under reconciliation....

Seems rather low??


Will the House have to vote on the bill again?

The American Health Care Act narrowly passed the House in a 217- 213 vote after weeks of arduous vote-counting.

It’s hard to imagine lawmakers would want a do-over, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility.

The House has not sent the healthcare bill over to the Senate, just in case the new CBO score does not find that the bill saves at least $2 billion over 10 years. If that criterion is not met, the bill cannot be passed under the reconciliation procedure Senate Republicans hope to use to pass it with a simple majority.

The new CBO score will include late amendments to the House’s bill, including a provision that provides more money for an insurance stability fund. Another amendment, from Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.), would let states opt out of core ObamaCare regulations, if certain conditions are met.

If states were to get rid of the ObamaCare regulations, it could result in more people signing up for skimpier, cheaper health plans. The government would then have to spend more on tax credits to help people afford insurance premiums.

House Republicans say they haven’t sent the bill to the Senate out of an “abundance of caution.” Aides downplayed the issue.

“The bill is just being held until CBO issues its final score,” AshLee Strong, a spokeswoman for Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), told The Hill last week.

The latest CBO estimate, from March 23, showed the bill would decrease federal deficits by $150 billion over 10 years.