Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich on Friday night said that he has concerns about the House bill to repeal and replace Obamacare and warned that if Republicans rush a bill through Congress without input from Democrats, the legislation will be doomed.
“So, what I’m fearful of, if Republicans jam this through without working with Democrats and reaching some sort of real good compromise, we will be right back where we were in five or six years before we started with Obamacare,” Kasich told CNN’s Anderson Cooper. “That’s not acceptable.”
He said that he does not believe the bill will pass in the Senate in its current form and called on Senate leadership to work on a compromise with Democrats.
“I that think the situation is, the road map is, maybe it will pass the House, maybe it won’t. But when it gets to the Senate, we have to involve both parties in the discussion because, Anderson, look, if you don’t have both parties working on a major issue, it’s not sustainable,” he said.
Kasich said that if the bill passes with only Republican support, it will become a “political issue” during the next campaign cycle. He said that when Democrats eventually make gains, they will simply reverse Republicans’ work.
The Ohio governor and former Republican presidential candidate, said that he is worried about the GOP yanking Medicaid expansion. He said that it’s fine if Republicans phase out Medicaid, but he warned against abruptly taking away coverage.
“You don’t want to just kick them off because then where do they go?” Kasich said.
He then argued that the tax credits offered in the Republican bill are not enough to help Americans afford health insurance. He said that with the low tax credits, “you’re going to have a catastrophic policy with a deductible that you can never pay.”
