Senators react to Republican Health Care Plan

March 7, 2017 11:14 pm

By: News Staff

news@abc6.com

Twitter: @ABC6

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Senator Reed reacted to House Republican leaders rolling out their new plan to repeal and replace Obamacare on Tuesday.

The plan would repeal Obamacare penalties and subsidies over three years.

It will also generate tax credits to help people buy insurance, and freeze federal funding for Medicaid.

The plan does not change coverage based on pre-existing conditions, and people under age of twenty-six can still be on their parent’s health insurance.

Senator Reed is not impressed.

"The republicans should be embarrassed after over 7 years of trying to find a replacement for Obamacare.. They’ve come up with a plan that’s unworkable and ironically might cost more money and cover fewer people," said Senator Reed.

The Senator goes on to say eliminating the Medicaid expansion would have a big impact on Rhode Island because 60% of elderly people in nursing homes are covered by Medicaid, meaning the state will have to make up the difference with money that is not there.

Senator Whitehouse also weighed in on the plan, releasing the following statement:

“Now I understand why Republicans didn’t want to show us this plan. TrumpCare will make Americans pay more, for fewer benefits, and leave millions without any coverage whatsoever. It decimates Medicaid, forcing low-income families, those with disabilities, and seniors to fend for themselves, and uses the savings to cut taxes for the wealthy. It defunds Planned Parenthood, where millions of women and men get important health care services. It defunds Medicare, significantly reducing its solvency. And as the opioid crisis rages in Rhode Island and around the country, it threatens coverage for addiction treatment. It even hands health insurance companies an incentive to dole out multi-million-dollar salaries to their CEOs. If President Trump wanted a plan that breaks virtually all of his campaign promises on health care, this is it.”