White House criticizes CBO report, cites 'history of inaccuracy'

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CBO: 22M more uninsured by 2026 with Senate health care bill

Fox News senior Capitol Hill producer Chad Pergram says the Congressional Budget Office's score adds to the operational problems for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell

The White House criticized the Congressional Budget Office on Monday, hitting the nonpartisan federal agency for its analysis of the Senate’s proposed health care legislation.

Under the new plan, the CBO said, the number of Americans uninsured would grow to 22 million in 2026. The office, which issued its “score” with the Joint Committee on Taxation, estimated that the legislation would cut the deficit by $321 billion by 2026.

“The CBO has consistently proven it cannot accurately predict how healthcare legislation will impact insurance coverage,” the White House said in a statement. “This history of inaccuracy, as demonstrated by its flawed report on coverage, premiums, and predicted deficit arising out of ObamaCare, reminds us that its analysis must not be trusted blindly.

CBO SCORE OF SENATE HEALTH CARE BILL: WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

“In 2013, the CBO estimated that 24 million people would have coverage under Obamacare by 2016.  It was off by an astounding 13 million people – more than half—as less than 11 million were actually covered.  Then, CBO estimated that 30 million fewer people would be uninsured in 2016, but then it had to reduce its estimate to 22 million, further illustrating its inability to present reliable healthcare predictions,” the White House said.

Overall, the amount of those uninsured would jump to 15 million people in 2018, according to the CBO’s projections. That amount would then increase to 19 million in 2020 and to 22 million in 2026.

The CBO, a nonpartisan legislative branch of the government, supplies budget and economic information to Congress.