The Latest: Senate GOP leader backs House health care bill
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on new Republican legislation to replace the health care law (all times local):
10:20 a.m.
The top Republican in the Senate is supporting the House bill to unravel the health care law, arguing that it can't be repaired and must be scrapped and replaced.
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday on the Senate floor that the legislation is backed by the one person who can sign it into law - President Donald Trump.
The bill would limit future federal funding for Medicaid, which covers low-income people, about 1 in 5 Americans. And it would loosen rules that former President Barack Obama's law imposed for health plans directly purchased by individuals, while also scaling back insurance subsidies.
House panels plan to move ahead on the legislation on Wednesday.
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10:10 a.m.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is telling Speaker Paul Ryan that lawmakers "must not be asked to vote" on new GOP health care legislation without details on cost and how many people would be covered.
In a letter to Ryan Tuesday, Pelosi says that "the American people and members have the right to know the full impact of this legislation before any vote in committee or by the full House."
Two committees plan to start voting on House Republicans' new bill on Wednesday. But thus far there is not an analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office of how much the bill will cost and how many people will have health coverage. Fewer people are expected to be covered under the House GOP bill compared to the Affordable Care Act.
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10 a.m.
Health Secretary Tom Price is calling the Republican health care plan a "necessary and important first step."
In a letter to Rep. Greg Walden and Rep. Kevin Brady on Tuesday, Price says the Republican proposal offers "patient-centric solutions." He says they will provide "affordable quality healthcare, promote innovation and offer peace of mind for those with pre-existing conditions."
Price says that all of President Donald Trump's plans cannot be achieved through this bill, such as selling insurance across state lines, lowering drug costs and "providing additional flexibility" in managing Medicaid. But he calls it an "important first step."
Price says the White House looks forward to working with lawmakers on the bill and ushering it to the president's desk.
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8:30 a.m.
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi says Republicans are underestimating the high costs of health care for people living with pre-existing medical conditions when discussing their new plan.
Pelosi tells "CBS This Morning" that coverage of people with pre-existing conditions can't be done easily and without ensuring healthy people also buy into insurance pools. Referring to insurance premiums for people with pre-existing conditions, she says, "we're not talking about something that is manageable."
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office hasn't yet determined the cost of the GOP legislation.
Pelosi also is rebutting GOP criticism that "Obamacare" is failing. She says premiums were soaring before the law took effect and that the Democratic plan helped to contain cost.
She says of President Donald Trump's criticisms of the law: "He doesn't even have the faintest idea of what he's talking about."
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7:50 a.m.
White House budget chief Mick Mulvaney says it's unfair to compare how many people would have health insurance under the new Republican plan to "Obamacare."
President Barack Obama's health care plan insured about 20 million people, including many residents of states carried by President Donald Trump in November's election.
Mulvaney told NBC's "Today Show": "What Obamacare did was make insurance affordable, but care impossible to actually afford. The deductibles were simply too high. So people could say they have coverage but they couldn't actually get the medical care they needed when they get sick."
Trump has promised in the past that his plan will "take care of everybody" by making "a deal" with hospitals. Mulvaney said Tuesday that "what people are getting here is access to coverage."
He predicted the bill would pass the House by Easter before going to the Senate.
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7:40 a.m.
White House budget chief Mick Mulvaney says that while the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office hasn't yet determined the cost of the new health care bill, he's sure it will bring "tremendous long-term savings" by giving states more control over Medicaid, the joint federal-state program for low income Americans.
The GOP bill keeps the health law's higher federal financing for expanded Medicaid through the end of 2019. After that, states can only continue to receive enhanced federal payments for beneficiaries already covered by the expansion. But for newly enrolled beneficiaries, the federal government would provide a lower level of financing.
Mulvaney told "CBS This Morning" the budget office has run its own numbers and is "absolutely convinced" the GOP plan will save the federal government money through savings on Medicaid spending and other innovations.
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3:30 a.m.
House Republican legislation overhauling the nation's health care law would limit future federal funding for Medicaid, which covers low-income people, about 1 in 5 Americans. And it would loosen rules that former President Barack Obama's law imposed for health plans directly purchased by individuals, while also scaling back insurance subsidies.
Republicans say their solutions would make Medicaid more cost-efficient without punishing the poor and disabled, while spurring private insurers to offer attractive products for the estimated 20 million consumers in the market for individual policies.
But Democrats say the bill would make many people uninsured, shifting costs to states and hospital systems that act as providers of last resort. Individual policy holders might be able to find low-premium plans, only to be exposed to higher deductibles and copayments.
House committees planned to begin voting on the legislation Wednesday.