Health Care News-GOP Repeal of Health Care to Cost $230 Billion

Health care law repeals sought by U.S. House Republicans would increase the federal deficit by $230 billion, the Congressional Budget Office said.

The non-partisan CBO's preliminary analysis of the Republicans' Repealing the Job-Killing Health Care Law Act boosted Democrats' claims that overturning President Obama's signature domestic bill would devastate the deficit, Politico reported.

The CBO score on the Affordable Care Act indicated it would decrease the deficit by $143 billion over 10 years -- a figure Republicans dispute.

The CBO estimated that the March 2010 healthcare legislation "would reduce budget deficits over the 2010-2019 period and in subsequent years; consequently, we expect that repealing that legislation would increase the budget deficit," CBO Director Doug Elmendorf said in his analysis.

Michael Steel, spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, called the estimate faulty.
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"There is no one that believes the Washington Democrats' job-killing healthcare law will lower costs, because it won't. That's why we pledged to repeal it and replace it with common-sense reforms that will actually work," Steel told Politico.