Critics of GOP health bill get ammunition from budget score

President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with his Cabinet in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, March 13, 2017. Clockwise, from lower left are, Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, Vice President Mike Pence, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Energy Secretary Rick Perry, UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the president, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with his Cabinet in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, March 13, 2017. Clockwise, from lower left are, Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, Vice President Mike Pence, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Energy Secretary Rick Perry, UN Ambassador Nikki Haley, Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, the president, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

By Associated Press March 14, 2017 11 min read

WASHINGTON – Critics of GOP health care legislation got fresh ammunition from a report that estimates the bill would increase the ranks of the uninsured by 14 million people next year alone, and 24 million over a decade.

The findings from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office could make prospects for the legislation backed by President Donald Trump even tougher, with a few House and Senate conservatives already in open revolt and moderate Republicans queasy about big cuts to the Medicaid safety net for the poor.

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But with the legislation headed for votes in the House Budget Committee within days and floor action next week, its supporters at the White House and on Capitol Hill showed no sign of retreat. Instead, they attacked the parts of the CBO report they didn’t like, while touting the more favorable findings, including smaller deficits from their bill and lower premiums over time.

“I’m pretty encouraged by it, it actually exceeded my expectations,” House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin said on Fox News Channel shortly after the report was released Monday evening.

Ryan said the CBO findings about millions losing coverage were to be expected, because the GOP legislation removes the penalty in former President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act aimed at coercing people into buying coverage.