WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall released the following statement after the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its score of the updated TrumpCare bill that passed the House of Representatives:
"Today's CBO report confirms that TrumpCare would be an utter disaster for New Mexico and the nation, and it proves that President Trump has shattered his promise to provide health care for all Americans and protect Medicaid. TrumpCare would massively increase the cost of health insurance for people who are older and low-income - as much as 800 percent! -- while cutting costs for the healthiest and wealthiest. It isn't a health care bill at all, it's a massive tax cut for the richest Americans, balanced on the backs of working families.
"The numbers in today's report are staggering: seniors, women, people with pre-existing conditions and those least able to afford health care would lose coverage or pay significantly more for worse policies. The bill would destabilize the market for a staggering one in six Americans by 2020, resulting in 14 million more uninsured Americans by next year alone, and 23 million more Americans without insurance by 2026. Maternity care, mental health and substance abuse treatment are among the health care services that could increase by thousands of dollars in a given year, putting them out of reach for millions of people.
"TrumpCare's consequences for New Mexico would be especially dire, cancelling health care for at least 265,000 New Mexicans who have health insurance today thanks to Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act. TrumpCare would hit rural New Mexicans particularly hard, drastically reducing access to care by forcing rural hospitals to close. And, TrumpCare could deal a devastating blow to our state's economy, destroying nearly 32,000 jobs and possibly sending New Mexico back into a recession.
"Given the stark and dismal picture painted by this CBO score, it's no wonder that Republicans rushed to jam TrumpCare through the House before holding a hearing and seeing the CBO analysis. But here in the Senate, I am going to fight tooth and nail to ensure that we defeat TrumpCare - or any bill like it - once and for all."