CBO scores GOP healthcare alternative

House Republicans' healthcare alternative would reduce the federal deficit by almost $70 billion over the next 10 years -- but the proposal would only offer insurance to an additional 3 million Americans, according to a cost analysis of the bill.

The numbers released Wednesday night spell mixed news for Republicans, who touted their amendment -- expected to cost about $61 billion over 10 years-- as more effective than the trillion-dollar bill House Democrats introduced last week.

While the GOP's effort is noticeably cheaper, it pales in comparison to the 36 million uninsured Americans that the Congressional Budget Office previously predicted Democrats' reform could cover.

Some highlights from the CBO analysis:

-- The amendment's tort reform provisions would reduce federal spending on mandatory programs by about $41 billion over 10 years.

-- The GOP's bill could also reduce average premium costs over 10 years, by varying amounts depending on the size of the insurance pool. However, the CBO offers one crucial caveat: Not every American in each insurance category would see a premium decrease. Rather, analysts predict, more cost burden would fall on sicker Americans, or the costs could be hared disparately among states, which means some beneficiaries could see premium increases (while others do not).

-- Finally, the amendment could reduce the deficit by about $18 billion after 2019, according to the CBO score. Still, the office stresses -- much as it did when it scored the House bill -- that projections beyond 2019 are too difficult to state with any degree of certitude.