NY Lawmaker: Getting Rid Of Obamacare 'A Death Sentence'
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Members of New York's congressional delegation held a rally Saturday at Gouverneur Hospital in Manhattan to implore House Republicans not to scrap Obamacare.
"Repeal and replace is a slogan, not a solution," congressman Hakeem Jeffries, of Brooklyn, said.
Jeffries was joined by other lawmakers and those who rely on the law, who admit there are issues with the Affordable Care Act, but pointed to a possible solution, WCBS 880's Myles Miller reported.
"We will not let Republicans make America sick again," congresswoman Nydia Velazquez said.
"They want to pass a death sentence on 45,000 Americans a year," congressman Jerry Nadler said.
House Speaker Paul Ryan said he plans to introduce a bill to repeal and replace the law after the President's Day weekend holiday. According to Ryan, the bill will give consumer the power to choose their health plans in a competitive marketplace.
Republican leadership also issued a 17-page memo which outlines a plan that would repeal medicaid expansion, give states grants to repair health insurance marketplaces and provide monthly tax credits.
Speakers at the rally said without Obamacare, hospitals would not be able to take care of low-income patients, and small communities would have to raise property taxes to make up the difference, 1010 WINS' Roger Stern reported.
Democrats say those proposals won't work.
The controversial law has provided health care subsidies and Medicaid coverage for millions who don't get insurance at work. It has required insurers to cover certain services like family planning and people who are already ill, and has curbed rates that the sick and elderly can be charged.
Earlier this year, the House adopted a House-Senate measure to make it easier for a subsequent "Obamacare" repeal bill to advance through the Senate without the threat of a Democratic filibuster. The House approved the resolution in a 227-198 vote.