Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, confirmed Thursday night that there will not be a score from the Congressional Budget Office on the final language included in the House Republican healthcare bill before Friday’s vote.
Brady, who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee, made the revelation to reporters following the Thursday evening GOP conference meeting. The final bill will include changes to the bill, including the removal of Obamacare’s required “essential health benefits” and an extra $15 billion included to combat mental illness and addiction treatment.
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“With these amendments, no,” Brady said when asked if there will be a full report to reflect the changes.
“We will continue to ask CBO for a score. We anticipate that they’ll have to look at the coverage issues the civility fund is pretty straightforward, so we don’t anticipate major changes that way,” Brady said. “We’ve been discussing these solutions with members for days now, and so has President Trump.”
A CBO score of an earlier version of the bill found it would reduce deficits by $150 billion over a decade and reduce the number of Americans with insurance by 24 million relative to Obamacare.
The news comes after lawmakers confirmed that there would be a vote on Friday at the urging of the White House. Brady said that Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney made it clear to the caucus — that Trump wants the vote on Friday and is prepared to move on if fails.
“Mulvaney made it clear — the president is done negotiating,” Brady said. “That this is a conservative package that lowers healthcare costs. So at his request and leadership’s, we’re moving forward with the vote.”
