CHICAGO-Following is the statement of SEIU Healthcare Illinois President Greg Kelley following release of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office score of the Republican House healthcare overhaul. The CBO report concludes that 23 million Americans will lose health insurance by 2026 if the Republican legislation becomes law:

“The new score from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office released today is sickening and shows the critical danger facing Illinois from the Republican healthcare overhaul, which was created by the actions of politicians like Peter Roskam, Rodney Davis and Mike Bost, and enabled by the silence of party leaders like Bruce Rauner.
“The devastating cuts to Medicaid, both in Trump’s new budget plan AND the Republican House healthcare overhaul, have been opposed by OTHER Republican governors, but not in any meaningful way by Rauner, and these cuts will drive nearly 400,000 Illinoisans off healthcare, harming children, women, people with disabilities and seniors.
“The sickening CBO score shows that Republican politicians like Rauner are failing the leadership test and putting the health of Illinois at risk. The result to Illinois will be massive cuts to Medicaid, higher premiums, an end to pre-existing condition protections, lifetime caps and more costs to senior and rural Illinoisans and yet more harm to vulnerable populations already suffering as Rauner dismantles our social safety net.”