Washington Free Beacon editor in chief Matthew Continetti said Monday the "real action" for the new bill proposed by House Republicans to replace the Affordable Care Act will take place in the Senate.
MSNBC's Steve Kornacki first asked Continetti if the newly released numbers by the Congressional Budget Office on the GOP health care plan would "impact the willingness of Republicans in the House and in the Senate to go along with this replacement plan."
"In the House, it will be okay," but the Senate may be a different story, Continetti responded.
"It's the Senate, and especially the senators, the more moderate Republican senators who are going to worry about that Medicaid business," he said.
Kornacki then asked whether people are going to "run with these numbers" released by the CBO to make their case for or against the bill.
"I really can't say," Continetti said, noting that these figures have been off in the past, "especially in the numbers that they were projecting would sign up for Obamacare."
"So there's reason to suggest that there might be some discrepancy in the numbers who lose insurance," he said.
Continetti then emphasized the importance of Medicaid to the debate over the GOP bill.
"Medicaid is the crux of this debate, Steve, because the Republicans in the House are really counting a lot on the Medicaid reform in this replacement plan," he said. "And yet, the Republicans in the Senate, people like Lisa Murkowski, even people like Rob Portman, are going to be worried about the people who would lose coverage because of the Medicaid reform."
He added that he "think[s] it's enough to get through the House."
"The real action will be in the Senate and what changes, if any, Mitch McConnell allows, in order to cover more people under Medicaid and then get the buy-in from more moderate Republican senators," Continetti said.