3.14.17
Suggested lead: The Congressional Budget Office has
released its analysis of the proposed Republican healthcare plan, and judging by
the numbers, it doesn’t favor Washington state. Dan Frizzell has that story.
Wrap (:75 total):
CHOPP:
"We’re really pleased that Marie and also Senator Patty Murray have been very
firm in opposition to this horrible plan to cut hundreds of thousands of people
off of health care." [:10]
That’s Washington state Speaker of the House Frank Chopp.
A Seattle Democrat, he’s not a fan of the Trump-Ryan plan to repeal the
Affordable Care Act. The
non-partisan Congressional Budget Office says the Republican plan would cause 24
million people in the U.S. to lose their medical insurance.
Just here in Washington, between a half and three quarters of a million
people who currently have insurance would lose it.
Chopp isn’t ready to give up yet.
CHOPP:
"Our fundamental thing is that we’ve got to fight back against this horrible
proposal and we’ve got to make sure that people have health care. It’s extremely
important for the future of the state.
Not only in terms of the care for the individual and their families, but
also the financial burden it puts on to people.
That’s not sustainable on an average person’s budget." [:17]
Chopp, who created Apple Health several years ago in a quest to insure every
Washington child, said one possible option if Obamacare is ultimately destroyed
is to resurrect Washington’s Basic Health Plan.
The BHP was a model for some of the Affordable Care Act, and helped
low-income and uninsurable Washingtonians access health care for more than 25
years. In Olympia, I'm Dan
Frizzell.