Washington, D.C. – On Monday, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) published a report highlighting the severe cost and impact of the Senate’s TrumpCare legislation. The new CBO analysis shows that the bill would eliminate health insurance for an estimated 22 million Americans and raise health care costs for seniors and working families. Congresswoman Terri A. Sewell (D-AL) releases the following statement:

“This week’s report from the Congressional Budget Office makes it clear that the Republican repeal bill was never about ‘health care reform,’ it’s about cutting taxes for the wealthy. The facts show that the latest TrumpCare bill would eliminate health insurance for 22 million Americans, raise premiums on low-income seniors by 280 percent, and force many Americans onto insurance plans that fail to cover essential health services. If Republicans are really committed to improving health care in this country, they need to go back to the drawing board and work on bipartisan legislation with input from patients, health care providers, and the public. No more backroom meetings, no more secret drafts, it is time for an open debate on health care that puts our constituents’ needs first.”

The CBO’s estimates of insurance coverage, premiums and federal spending are influenced by the fact that the office’s forecast covers a ten-year period. Many of the worst cuts to health care in the Senate’s bill are tilted toward the latter part of the next decade, essentially hiding the cuts from the CBO’s analysis.

Since the release of the Senate’s TrumpCare bill last week, patients groups, hospitals, doctors, and seniors groups have announced their strong opposition to the bill. Analysis by the Center for American Progress suggests that coverage losses under the Senate Health Care Repeal Bill could result in 18,100 to 27,700 additional deaths by 2026.

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Rep. Terri A. Sewell (D-AL) is serving her fourth term representing Alabama’s 7th Congressional district. She sits on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and was recently appointed to the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. Sewell is a Chief Deputy Whip and serves on the prestigious Steering and Policy Committee of the Democratic Caucus. She is also a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, and serves as Vice Chair of the Congressional Voting Rights Caucus, and Vice Chair of Outreach for the New Democrat Coalition.