The OMB used the preliminary budget numbers Democrats seized upon on Thursday morning to argue repeal would be too costly.

Welcome to The Hill's evening roundup of the day's health policy news and advance look at tomorrow's schedule.

Thursday’s health news:

Repeal bill adds $230 billion to deficit: Congressional budget scorekeepers said Thursday that Republicans' effort to repeal healthcare reform would increase the deficit by about $230 billion over the first 10 years, adding fodder to Democrats' argument that House Republicans are backtracking on a campaign promise to reduce the deficit. Republicans next week will vote to repeal the reform bill without offsetting the cost, but the GOP says the Congressional Budget Office’s (CBO) deficit projections are the result of “budget gimmickry.”

"CBO can only provide a score based on the assumptions that are given to them," said Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) in a Thursday morning press conference. "If you go back to look at the healthcare bill and the assumptions that were given to them, you see all of the double counting that went on." http://bit.ly/euEyDE

House Dems slam GOP's CBO dismissal: Democrats criticized Republicans for rejecting the deficit estimate, comparing the nonpartisan CBO to a referee on the playing field. "When you don't like the call on the field, it's not part of the rules of the game that you throw the referee off the field and substitute your judgment," Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), the ranking member of the Budget Committee, told reporters.

New Speaker defends repeal strategy: John Boehner (R-Ohio) continued to fight back Thursday morning against Democrats' accusations that the GOP is trying to rush through the repeal bill without allowing amendments. “I promised a more open process," he said during the Thursday press conference. "I did not promise that every single bill would be an open bill." http://bit.ly/heV9rF

Boehner said that Republicans were elected to quickly repeal the reform law, even if that means bypassing House committees. "We made a commitment to the American people," he said. http://bit.ly/giQsHy

Heritage breaks down CBO score: The conservative Heritage Foundation raises several issues with the CBO's estimate: 

• It doesn't include the Medicare "doc fix";

• It assumes savings from Medicare cuts and the long-term CLASS Act insurance program that Democrats have "double-counted" as deficit busters AND revenues for those respective programs;

• It may underestimate the cost of subsidies as more businesses drop their coverage.

Dems said ignoring the CBO sets "a dangerous precedent" and runs counter to GOP campaign promises.

Republican members of a House health subcommittee tasked with proposing alternatives to the healthcare reform law were named Thursday afternoon.

The nine Republican members of the Ways and Means Committee's Health subcommittee include Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (Wis.) and Rep. Wally Herger (Calif.), who was the subcommittee's ranking member last Congress.

Other subcommittee members include Jim Gerlach (Pa.), Dean Heller (Nev.), Sam Johnson (Texas), Devin Nunes (Calif.), Tom Price (Ga.), Dave Reichert (Wash.) and Peter Roskam (Ill.).

After the GOP votes to repeal the reform law next week, Ways and Means and other key committees will hold hearings on proposals to replace popular healthcare reform measures.

Republicans already have introduced a slew of legislation aimed at repealing, defunding or otherwise weakening Democrats' reform law.

Democrats received an electoral drubbing in November because they lacked the courage to defend their healthcare reform legislation, according to Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D).

Democrats rarely mentioned the legislation on the campaign trail. Even popular provisions, such as one that required members of Congress to buy the same health insurance available to other Americans, weren't widely talked about.

Speaking to Democrats in Omaha on Wednesday, Rendell said members should have been proud of their votes for the bill.

"We Democrats have become a party that is scared to talk about what we believe in," he said, according to the Omaha World-Herald.

"It's time to be bold again. We lost in November being scared of our shadows," said Rendell, who wraps up his second term and will leave office later this month.

Many strategists expect much of the 2012 campaign to revolve around the battle to implement or repeal the healthcare bill passed in March of last year.

As House Republicans plan to expose what they call flaws in the new healthcare reform law, a key Senate committee announced Thursday afternoon plans to highlight the law's consumer protections.

Starting Jan. 27, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will host a series of hearings on how the reform law provides new benefits to consumers.

The first will examine how the law protects consumers against health insurers. The committee also will examine how the law requires insurers to be transparent about rates and spend at least 80 percent of premiums on healthcare services; benefits small business owners; reduces the deficit; increases quality of care; reduces waste, fraud and abuse; invests in prevention and wellness; provides portable insurance; and expands coverage.

House Republicans, including Energy and Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.), have promised to shine a light on the law's weaknesses. They will vote next week to repeal the entire law, and the committees will work to find "common-sense" solutions to replace popular consumer protections included in the reform law.

House Republicans are rejecting a Congressional Budget Office analysis that says repealing last year's healthcare reform bill would increase the budget deficit by $145 billion through 2019, $230 billion through 2021, and add to deficits in the decade after that (although CBO does not have a firm estimate for the second decade).

In Thursday's Rules Committee hearing on a pending healthcare reform bill, Chairman David Dreier (R-Calif.) said Republicans have a "response" to that CBO analysis: a new House Budget Committee report that says enactment of the healthcare law will add $701 billion to the deficit in 10 years and will cost $2.6 trillion when fully implemented.

Rep. James McGovern (D-Mass.) said Dreier's comments worry him because they imply CBO estimates will be ignored when Republicans disagree with them and will be replaced by Republican estimates. Dreier responded by saying Republicans want to look at the cost of legislation beyond a 10-year timeframe in order to ensure Congress does not pass legislation that might save money early on but lead to an "explosion" in spending in later years.

The Rules Committee hearing began at 10 a.m. and is expected to take up much of the rest of today, after which a vote on the rule for the repeal bill, H.R. 2, is expected.

Two federal departments teamed up Thursday to help people with disabilities retain their independence.

The housing and health departments announced a partnership aimed at helping 1,000 non-elderly people with disabilities leave nursing homes and other institutions through a combination of rental assistance vouchers and healthcare and related support services. The Department of Housing and Urban Services is providing $7.5 million in rental assistance vouchers, while the Department of Health and Human Services will provide health and social services through its "Money Follows the Person" grant program.

"Through our collaboration with the Department of Housing and Urban Development, I know that we will be able to dramatically change peoples' lives," HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement. "Individuals with disabilities can have a life in the community that serves their needs and supports them in leading productive, meaningful lives."