Following an exceedingly unfavorable report from the Congressional Budget Office, prospects of the House Obamacare repeal-and-replace bill becoming law in its original form have become bleak. In its wake comes talk of significant changes to the bill, and even the renewal of an old strategy: letting the Affordable Care Act implode on its own accord, then picking up the pieces anew. There's only one problem. The predicted “death spiral” hasn't happened yet, and there's a reason it won't.
As it does with all major legislation, the CBO recently estimated the impacts of House Republicans' American Health Care Act. The report was something of a sopping wet blanket for Paul Ryan and Congressional leaders. The bill is estimated to generate some budgetary savings – $337 billion over ten years – but at the staggering cost of 24 million more uninsured Americans by 2026.
