The latest version of US Senate Republicans' legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act would leave 22 million Americans without health insurance coverage by 2026, the US Congressional Budget Office says.
The analysis could complicate matters for the divided Republicans, who shelved the bill on Monday after four senators said they could not support it.
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump scolded Republican senators and told them they had to deliver on a seven-year campaign promise to get rid of Obamacare and replace it with a new plan.
After news late Wednesday that Senator John McCain has aggressive brain cancer, Republicans' fight for votes with a narrow 52-48 majority becomes even more difficult.
Now Senate leadership, working with the White House, must decide whether to revive the repeal and replace bill after a moderate and three conservatives said they could not support it.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had planned to hold a straight repeal vote next week, but several Republican senators have already said they oppose that approach.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said on Wednesday that 32 million more Americans would lose their insurance coverage by 2026 with a straight repeal, far more than the more than 20 million who have become insured under Obamacare.
McConnell revealed little of his next steps but said Republicans were not giving up on their efforts to overhaul Obamacare, formally known as the Affordable Care Act.
"Dealing with this issue is what's right for the country," he said on the Senate floor on Thursday. "The fight to move beyond the status quo of Obamacare was certainly never going to be easy. But we've come a long way, and I look forward to continuing our work together to finally bring relief."
Democrats, who stand in united opposition to the Republican efforts and revelled in this week's deadlock, told Republicans to abandon their healthcare efforts as they appeared no closer to reconciling policy differences.
