Democratic governors around the country are quietly making appeals to Republican members of their state’s congressional delegations. Their goal is to slow down or fully stop the repeal of Obamacare. The governor’s message is simple: Repealing Obamacare now, would cause massive disruption in the healthcare markets and cost their constituents dearly.
[AdSense-A]
According to the Huffington Post, California Governor Jerry Brown’s office confirmed that he had been in “close contact” with lawmakers in Washington DC, to discuss “potential challenges ahead” on health care. Simultaneously, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf is drafting a letter to Republican Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and the entire Pennsylvania congressional delegation to remind them that 63,000 people in the state depend on the law for drug and alcohol treatment at a time when the state is in the midst of opioid and heroin epidemic. And Washington Governor Jay Inslee has also made overtures to GOP leadership and fellow members, noting that 51,000 health-related jobs have been added to the state’s economy since Obamacare was passed.
Republicans plan to repeal Obamacare, then figure out the replacement later
[AdSense-B]
It isn’t clear whether the Republican leadership is heeding the warnings from Democrats. Republicans have signaled that they plan to repeal Obamacare early in the new year and establish a long window – up to four years- to figure out what the replacement will be. And Donald Trump while pledging to replace Obamacare with “something great” has not indicated whether he will support the repeal and figure it out later approach by Republicans.
The Democratic Governors however make a very compelling case that the consequences of repealing Obamacare could be catestrophic. In California, 1.4 million people have purchased health plans through the state’s health insurance exchange. And nationally, Medicaid expansion under Obamacare extended coverage to 3.5 million people across the country.
The task of covincing enough Republican lawmakers to break with their party is not a small one, as many as 23 Republicans in the House of Representatives or 3 Republicans in the Senate would need to join the Democrats in order to block the Obamacare repeal. There are indications that Democrats are also quietly threatening Republicans that they will not help them to clean up the mess that is created by Repealing Obamacare.
