NEW JERSEY POLICY PERSPECTIVE VICE PRESIDENT JON WHITEN:

“The CBO report released today confirms that the American Health Care Act is indeed hazardous to our health. The amendments to the original failed ‘repeal and replace’ bill did little to make the legislation better, as proponents like Rep. Tom MacArthur insisted.

In the end, essentially the same number of people will lose insurance. The deep, deep cuts to Medicaid will cause serious damage to low-income Americans – and state budgets – across the country. The huge tax cuts for the wealthiest families will make the growing gap between those at the top and the rest of us even larger.

And in fact, the amendments made things worse, creating a large swath of the country – an estimated one-sixth – where waivers taken by states will destabilize health insurance markets and price out consumers, particularly those with pre-existing conditions.

The bottom line: None of the proposals to come out of the House will help more Americans get affordable health coverage – and in fact, all of the proposals will do just the opposite.”