Paul Ryan “Can’t Answer” How Many Will Lose Healthcare Under GOP Plan: “It’s Up To People”

“People are going to do what they want to do with their lives,” House speaker says

House Speaker Paul Ryan said Sunday he “can’t answer” the question of how many people will lose healthcare under the GOP’s plan to “repeal and replace” Obamacare. 

“How many people are going to lose coverage?” CBS News’ John Dickerson asked Ryan on “Face The Nation.” 

“I can’t answer that question. It’s up to people,” Ryan said. “People are going to do what they want to do with their lives.”

Last week, the Brookings Institute estimated that 15 million people will lose coverage under the GOP plan. 

This week, the Congressional Budget Office is expected to release its analysis of the GOP plan, including how many people would lose coverage. But on Sunday, Ryan and others attempted to pre-emptively discredit the CBO’s report. 

“The one thing I’m certain will happen is CBO will say, well, gosh, not as many people will get coverage. You know why? Because this isn’t a government mandate,” Ryan said. “You get it if you want it. That’s freedom.”

On ABC News’ “This Week,” the director of the White House’s Office of Management and Budget claimed that the CBO shouldn’t be analyzing the GOP plan, even though that’s precisely the agency’s job.

“They work really hard,” OMB Director Mick Mulvaney said of the CBO. “They do, but sometimes we ask them to do stuff they’re not capable of doing, and estimating the impact of a bill of this size probably isn’t the — isn’t the best use of their time.”