Business

Mnuchin: ‘Obamacare Was Just A Giant Tax On The Economy’

REUTERS/Carlos Barria

Daily Caller News Foundation logo
Robert Donachie Capitol Hill and Health Care Reporter
Font Size:

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said Thursday that Obamacare was really nothing more than a giant tax burden placed on the U.S. economy.

“I think everyone knows that Obamacare was just a giant tax on the economy,” Mnuchin said at a White House press briefing Thursday afternoon.

The Senate released a revised health care bill Monday that takes out the individual mandate and replaces it with a penalty for people who go without insurance. If the Senate passes the bill, people who choose to go without insurance for more than 63 days will have a six-month waiting period imposed upon them before they can reenroll in the individual insurance market. (RELATED: Senate Delays Health Care Vote)

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) expected that some 22 million people would lose insurance by 2026.

Mnuchin questioned the reliability of the CBO score Thursday, calling the 22 million figure into question.

“One of the flaws of the scoring on the CBO, on this one, is when you look at the number of people. There are a lot of people when given the option that will decide not to take this health care. That doesn’t mean people are losing health care,” Mnuchin said.(RELATED: Reports That 23 Million Americans Will Lose Health Care Are WAY Off)

The House bill, passed in early May, was originally expected to leave 24 million people without insurance but was later amended to 23 million. The Senate’s version, after weeks of debate, is only anticipated to save an additional 1 million of the expected loss in the insurance market.

Follow Robert on Twitter

Send tips to robert@dailycallernewsfoundation.org

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.