By Joe Lancello of KZRG Radio

Southwest Missouri Congressman Billy Long (R) says he doesn’t have much faith in the Congressional Budget Office’s projections about the Republican health care proposal being debated today in the U.S. House. According to the office, 24 million people would lose their insurance coverage over the next ten years under the plan that would replace Obamacare.

Congressman Billy Long

“They said that in 2016, there would be 24 million people on Obamacare, 24 million. There were ten million in 2016, so they missed it by a ton,” says Long.

He says the analysis doesn’t take into account those who choose not to buy insurance. Long says there’s a difference between not being able to get insurance and choosing to not buy it.

“You know, no one should be able to force you to say ‘Hey, you gotta buy a polled Hereford, you gotta buy a limousine, you gotta buy a Ford pickup truck.’ And that’s the same way with insurance. People should not have to be coerced to buy insurance,” says Long.

Democrats say the plan would make healthcare costs dramatically increase for people age 50 to 64. They say it slashes Medicaid funding to pay hundreds of billions of dollars in tax cuts for the wealthy.

Long’s district includes Springfield and Branson.