WASHINGTON, July 17 (Xinhua) -- The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) will not release its analysis of a revised Senate health care plan on Monday as previously expected, according to U.S. media.
The Senate Budget Committee was quoted as saying that the release on the CBO analysis of the updated Republican bill was put off, adding it will provide further information and updates as appropriate.
It did not provide any explanation or when the analysis, including estimated cost and scope of insurance coverage, would be expected.
The delay marked the latest setback for the Republican efforts to repeal and replace former President Barack Obama's signature health-care law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as the Obamacare.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell postponed a vote Saturday on GOP's revised Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA), planned this week, in light of Republican John McCain's recovering at home in Arizona from surgery for a blood clot above his left eye.
McCain's absence would have left Republicans short of the votes required to move forward the legislation because the long-sought bill needs support from 50 of the 52 Republican senators to get passed, but two of them, Susan Collins of Maine and Rand Paul of Kentucky, have said they won't back their own party's health care plan.
Last week, Senate Republicans unveiled an updated version of the bill to bridge internal differences, facing a unanimous opposition from Democrats and independents.
The amendment, worked out by Republican Senator Ted Cruz, allows both skimpy and more robust plans in the insurance market to attract conservatives, and adds billions in tackling with the opioid epidemic to win moderates.
Senator Paul of Kentucky said he believes the Republican bill not going far enough to repeal the Obamacare, while Collins of Maine insisted it would hurt some of those who need health care the most.
An earlier CBO score on the BCRA estimated that 22 million more Americans would be uninsured in the next 10 years and premiums and out-of-pocket spending would increase sharply for low-income people and those about to retire.
