GOP health plan is 'reverse Robin Hood,' Democrat Max Baucus says
Congressional Republicans will have to work across the aisle on the GOP health-care plan like Democrats did with Obamacare, former Sen. Max Baucus told CNBC on Tuesday.
"I have a sign in my office — had four rules. Number one, remember the people you serve. Number two, do it now. Number three, do it right the first time. And four, make it fun. I think the Republican plan is just too rushed," the Montana Democrat said on " Squawk Box ."
"It's not rocket science here," he said.
Baucus' comments came after the Congressional Budget Office released an estimate that 14 million more people would become uninsured next year if the GOP health-care plan is signed into law.
The CBO also projected that 52 million people would be uninsured by 2026 if the bill became law, compared with 28 million who would not have coverage that year if the law remained unchanged.
"I think the CBO is by and large accurate," Baucus said. "A lot of people will become uninsured. In addition to that, a lot of people are going to get hurt because they won't have health insurance."
Earlier this month, House GOP leaders unveiled a broad plan for replacing Obamacare , titled the American Health Care Act, which includes killing the requirement that most Americans have health insurance or pay a fine.
It would also alter the system by which many customers get financial aid to buy insurance on the individual plan market.
The Trump administration has defended the health-care plan, which it says will have a second and third phase that will entice consumers.
Democratic leaders in Congress said the bill could result in elderly people being kicked out of nursing homes as it simultaneously gives tax cuts for the richest Americans, according to Reuters.
Baucus said there is a "reverse Robin Hood" under the GOP health care bill because it takes from the poor and gives to the wealthy.
"The answer is you got to slow down a little bit," he said.
--CNBC's Dan Mangan and Reuters contributed to this report.
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