iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — Republicans on Capitol Hill are preparing for the release of the Congressional Budget Office’s analysis of the GOP health care bill that passed the House earlier this month.
The estimate of the American Health Care Act impact on the federal deficit could determine whether the Senate will take up the measure, which passed with only one vote to spare in the House.
Senate budget rules require the AHCA to save $2 billion over 10 years in order to be taken up under reconciliation — a process that would allow Senate Republicans to pass the bill with only 51 votes.
If the nonpartisan CBO determines that the bill doesn’t pass muster for reconciliation, Democrats would be able to filibuster the measure, which could send the bill back to House Republicans to amend and hold another vote.
Republican leadership aides say it’s unlikely the bill won’t meet the Senate requirements.
The CBO score will also include an estimate of whether the number of Americans with health insurance would change and by how much.
An earlier analysis of the bill estimated that 24 million Americans would lose health insurance under the GOP’s AHCA, compared to Obamacare.
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