Republicans are pushing forward on a vote next week on their bill to repeal Obamacare and won’t wait for a new estimate on the impact of major changes the legislation makes to Medicaid.
House Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., told reporters Friday that the House will not wait for a new score from the Congressional Budget Office before voting on the American Health Care Act. The decision comes after a meeting between President Trump and 13 members of the Republican Study Committee that bore major changes to the bill.
“We are working with CBO on all of these. Obviously CBO works slower than we like,” said Scalise, who was at the White House meeting.
However, “We are moving forward with our bill.”
Republicans plan to add mandatory work requirements to Medicaid and give states an option to choose a block grant or a per-capita cap for federal funding.
Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn., said it isn’t impossible for a new score to be ready quickly.
“I am not saying it couldn’t happen, but what they tell us it takes about four days,” Roe said.
The decision to not wait for an updated score comes after the CBO estimated Monday that the bill would result in 24 million people without insurance over the next decade. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., sent a letter to Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., on Wednesday saying that CBO should be given time to score any changed legislation.
