House Dem: Healthcare bill makes GOP an ‘executioner’

A Democratic lawmaker escalated attacks on the GOP healthcare plan in a blistering speech on the House floor on Tuesday, calling the legislation a “death sentence.”

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), who co-chairs the House Democrats’ messaging arm, warned the bill would result in the deaths of the most vulnerable segments of the population.

“It will result in tens of thousands of Americans dying,” Jeffries said. “It is a death sentence. Seniors will die. The poor will die. The chronically ill will die. Rural Americans will die. People between the age of 50 and 64 will die.”

{mosads}”And the executioner will be the authors and those who support the Republican healthcare plan,” he added.

House GOP leaders are aiming for a Thursday vote on the legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, passed in 2010.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated in its original analysis of the GOP legislation that 14 million fewer people would be insured by 2018, partly because some would voluntarily choose to forgo coverage with ObamaCare’s individual mandate no longer in place.

The CBO report also concluded that 24 million fewer people would have health insurance by 2026, largely because of changes in Medicaid enrollment as states end the eligibility expansion.

Republican leaders released additional changes to the legislation Monday night that include a provision aimed at increasing tax credits for older people to address projected cost increases. 

The measure enacts a placeholder provision to increase a medical tax deduction, which House members expect the Senate to codify into assistance for people between the ages of 50 and 64.