WA Governor Says Health Care Analysis Confirms Worst Fears

OLYMPIA  (AP) — Washington Gov. Jay Inslee says say that a nonpartisan analysis of the Republican plan to replace the national health care law "confirms our worst fears."

Monday's report by the Congressional Budget Office projects that 14 million people nationwide would lose coverage next year under the House bill dismantling former President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act. Under the estimate, there would be 24 million more people uninsured by 2026 than under current law.

State officials have said that more than 600,000 lower-income people in Washington state who gained coverage through Medicaid expansion could potentially lose coverage depending on what changes are made to the law at the federal level. If the state sought to backfill the Medicaid expansion numbers in order to keep those people covered, officials say the state would face additional costs of $1.5 billion a year.