Washington, DC – Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, released the following statement on the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) score of Republicans’ American Health Care Act, which CBO reports would “increase the number of people who are uninsured by 23 million in 2026 relative to current law”:
“It’s no surprise the Republicans’ health care bill would cause millions of Americans to lose their health coverage. House Republicans knew this was coming, but jammed it through before the American people could see these damning numbers. The CBO’s review just confirms that this bill is a train wreck: it would impose drastic cuts and end Medicaid expansion, which has extended coverage to 70,000 Rhode Islanders; it would tear down protections for those with pre-existing conditions, returning Americans to the bad old days when an illness or injury could heap financial hardship on top of physical suffering; it would increase insurance costs for older Americans; it would make it harder for those battling addiction to find the treatment they so desperately need; and it would hamper state health insurance exchanges like Rhode Island’s, which is working, improving coverage and care for so many.
“If Republicans want to confront the real problems in our health care system, I am ready to work with them. But trying to repeal a law that’s making a difference in the lives of Rhode Islanders is a nonstarter.”
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