The CBO has debunked a key Republican talking point on the Senate health bill

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June 26, 2017 10:51 PM

On Monday, the Congressional Budget Office released its analysis of the BCRA, throwing some more cold water over the Republicans' talking points.

U.S. Senator Pat Toomey

The Congressional Budget Office released its analysis for the Senate Republican healthcare bill on Monday, and it appears to dispel a major Republican talking point about the bill's relationship to Medicaid.

Since Senate Republicans released their healthcare bill, t

"I have to strongly disagree with the characterization that we are somehow ending the Medicaid expansion. In fact, quite the contrary. The Senate bill will codify and make permanent the Medicaid expansion, and in fact we'll have the federal government pay the lion share of the cost," Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania told Face The Nation on Sunday.

Despite Toomey's statement, the BCRA phases out the Medicaid expansion over several years beginning in 2021, with the idea that those who fall out of Medicaid eligibility will access coverage through the individual insurance market.

The CBO threw cold water on both the talking point that the BCRA doesn't end the expansion or cut Medicaid funding.

The CBO's analysis found that 22 million fewer people would have insurance under the bill by 2026. Cuts to Medicaid would reach $772 billion by 2026.

The CBO also said that it does not expect many of those who fall out of Medicaid eligibility under the BCRA to purchase insurance "because of the expense for premiums and the high deductibles" for individual market plans.

Here's what Medicaid is projected to look like under the BCRA, compared to Obamacare.

Cuts to Medicaid spending were notably $62 billion less over the next decade than what is proposed in the American Health Care Act, the bill passed by the House in May.

Medicaid covers more than 74 million Americans, including low-income people, families, and kids, as well as pregnant women, people with disabilities, and the elderly.

Source: Kaiser Family Foundation

Here's a breakdown of the percentage of federal funding each state receives for Medicaid. Dark blue states are most likely to feel the cuts proposed by the BCRA.

The bill scales back federal funding for Medicaid — which is more than half the spending for the program at the state level. That would leave states — which also fund the program — with fewer resources.

By law, state Medicaid programs have to cover nursing homes. If those states receive less funding from the federal government, it could increase the pressure on the operations of nursing homes, in turn possibly limiting who can qualify for care.

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