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Lindsey Graham and Mitch McConnell
Since its introduction last Wednesday, the bill has gained steam and is now being rushed to the floor before a September 30 deadline for Republicans to pass the bill with a majority vote.
Among the steps remaining, however, is a score from the Congressional Budget Office. The score is necessary because Republicans are attempting to use the budget reconciliation process to pass the legislation.
But the CBO reported Monday that one of the most important parts of their previous healthcare analyses will not be included for the GCHJ bill because of a time crunch. Perhaps most importantly, the analysis will not contain an estimate of the legislation's effects on insurance coverage.
"CBO will provide as much qualitative information as possible about the effects of the legislation, however CBO will not be able to provide point estimates of the effects on the deficit, health insurance coverage, or premiums for at least several weeks," a statement from the CBO said Monday.
The CBO said the score would include, however, whether the legislation would reduce deficits as much as the House's American Health Care Act.
Reconciliation allows the GOP to bypass the filibuster and pass the bill with just 50 votes in the Senate. Due to a ruling from the Senate parliamentarian in August, however, the reconciliation process for this round of healthcare negotiations is set to expire at the end of the month.
The previous release of CBO scores for GOP healthcare bills have become significant events, because they quantified the massive number of Americans that would go without insurance compared to the current system.
Democrats have requested that the bill be delayed until a CBO score including these aspects is released, but that seems unlikely if the GOP tries to pass the bill by the end of the month.