Since the Affordable Care Act was passed almost seven years ago, Republicans have been trying to get rid of it. But now, with control of both Congress and the White House, some Republicans are hesitant to repeal the Affordable Care Act without a replacement ready.
"It's a little bit ironic that some Republicans are now fighting to save Obamacare," state Rep. Jay Edwards, R-Nelsonville, said.
Edwards said he supports some parts of the Affordable Care Act, and he wants a replacement ready before it is repealed.
"We don't want to see the rug pulled out from under the people and the state," he said.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who ran for president last year, is another Republican who is hesitant to repeal the law without a replacement. Kasich has used the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare, to expand Medicaid in Ohio. He defended the use of Obamacare by saying it allowed more than 700,000 Ohio residents to gain coverage, according to USA Today.
"Let's just say they got rid of it and didn't replace it with anything," Kasich told reporters earlier this month. "What happens to those 700,000 people? What happens to drug treatment? What happens to mental health counseling?"
Edwards echoed the governor in his reasons for supporting certain parts of Obamacare.
"It has allowed a lot more people on insurance," Edwards said. "For people with drug abuse, it allows them to seek counseling. (For) people who feared that if they made too much money, they'd lose their Medicaid, it allowed them (to) keep working without fear of losing their coverage."
In Washington, Sen. Rob Portman, R-OH, supports repealing the Affordable Care Act, but does not want Congress to rush the removal of the ACA in order to ensure that citizens hold on to their coverage.
"Portman is committed to ensuring Americans are able to retain their healthcare," read a news release posted Friday on Portman's website. "This is why Portman is working with his colleagues to prioritize the effort to replace the law, and ensure they have a smart, responsible plan in place as quickly as possible."
It remains to be seen if Congress and President-elect Donald Trump will heed these calls for a slow transition. Trump has been vague about what will replace Obamacare, telling the Washington Post on Saturday he was nearing completion on a replacement plan that would have "insurance for everybody." The day before, Trump tweeted that "The 'Unaffordable' Care Act will soon be history!"
On Friday, the House of Representatives voted 227 to 198 in favor of passing a budget resolution that would be the first step in repealing Obamacare. The resolution, which calls for four committees in Congress to have repeal legislation ready by Jan. 27, had narrowly passed in the Senate the day before. Portman and Rep. Steve Stivers, a Republican who represents Athens in the House, were among those who voted in favor of the budget resolution.
"Under Obamacare, the cost of health insurance is putting a heavy burden on families and businesses," Stivers said in a statement after Friday's vote. "There is no doubt, Obamacare has failed the American people."
Stivers did not give many specifics regarding a replacement, saying he wanted "a patient-centered approach that will bring back choice and lower costs across the board."
