Democrats blast ‘Trumpcare’ after CBO finds GOP plan would leave millions without coverage

Caitlin Dickson
·Reporter

Top congressional Democrats fiercely denounced the Republican-backed American Health Care Act (AHCA) on Tuesday, a day after the Congressional Budget Office predicted that the GOP plan would leave 14 million more Americans without health insurance by 2018 than under Obamacare, and by 2026, 24 million would be uninsured.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called the 24 million projection “a remarkable figure” that “speaks so eloquently to the cruelty of the bill that [House Speaker Paul Ryan] calls, ‘an act of mercy.’”

“That’s un-American, that’s wrong, and we’re going to fight it tooth and nail,” Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., declared, adding that the CBO report “confirmed what Democrats already knew: ‘Trumpcare’ would be a nightmare.”

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California, and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York speak to reporters about the Congressional Budget Office projection that 14 million people would lose health coverage under the House Republican bill dismantling former President Barack Obama’s health care law, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, March, 13, 2017. (Photo: J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

Schumer and other Democrats have been making a concerted effort to tie President Trump to the pitfalls of AHCA, by branding the Republican Obamacare replacement bill “Trumpcare.” Trump, known for placing his name on things, has enthusiastically embraced the bill, but the White House has not embraced the moniker.

“I’ll call it ‘Trumpcare’ if you want to, but I didn’t hear President Trump say to any of us: ‘I want my name on that,’” White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said last week, according to The Hill. “It’s not about branding according to someone’s name — it’s serious business.”

But Democrats are doing their best to make the name stick. On Twitter, a number of lawmakers used the hashtag #trumpcare when attacking the bill.

The Democratic line of attack against the law has also focused on its implications for seniors, a key voting constituency. Among other things, the Republican legislation allows insurers to charge older Americans up to five times more than younger people for insurance, increasing Obamacare’s limit of 3 to 1.

“If there was ever a war on seniors, this is it,” Schumer said Tuesday, referring to predicted ramifications for older Americans due to the bill’s cuts to Medicaid spending as “classic Donald Trump.”

“The only winners in the CBO report are health insurance executives and the wealthiest Americans,” he argued.

Schumer also borrowed a line from the president to describe Republicans’ support for AHCA. “Sad,” he quipped.

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