Dive Brief:
- Republican legislation designed to block federal funding to Planned Parenthood and repeal core areas of the ACA was approved by the House Budget Committee to prevent Democrats from using procedural delays to kill the bill.
- Even though it's certain Obama will veto it, Republicans are using the measure to illustrate their views to conservatives before presidential and congressional elections next year.
- The Congressional Budget Office estimates the bill would save $79 billion over the next ten years and 15 million fewer American would have healthcare coverage. The savings would come from the government spending less to subsidize medical costs for lower-income people.
Dive Insight:
The bill would cut federal funding to Planned Parenthood for a year, and instead transfer the money to community health centers, still providing women access to services, according to Republicans. But the budget office estimates up to 25%, or 650,000 individuals, would have reduced access to family planning if the organization lost its federal money.
As reported by ABC News, Democrats criticized the bill, stating it would make the Affordable Care Act unworkable while eliminating money needed to pay for its costs. Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) said, "Here we are trying to do the bidding of a faction of this House that just can't come to terms with the fact that the health overhaul has been upheld by the Supreme Court."
Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) said, "Our goal is to save the country from this disastrous law and start over again." Republicans have opposed Obamacare since its start and have tried to cut Planned Parenthood federal funding for years, according to ABC News.