As Republican congressional leaders take steps to tear down the ACA, Republican governors from across the U.S. on Thursday urged lawmakers to continue funding health benefits for millions of poor Americans, reports Reuters.
Specifically, the governors' expressed concern over what an ACA repeal would mean for the millions of people who gained coverage under a provision of the health law that expanded Medicaid eligibility to low-income people in participating states. If Medicaid expansion is cut and not replaced with a policy that will maintain the same coverage levels, at least 10 million low-income people could lose their health insurance, according to Reuters.
Gov. John Kasich, R-Ohio, was one of 10 governors who met with Republican lawmakers in Washington, D.C. If the ACA is repealed, he suggested that people who gained Medicaid coverage under the law could instead be granted premium subsidies or tax credits for buying private health insurance, according to the report.
"It ain't gonna happen. Nobody's going to lose coverage," Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said as he left the meeting, according to the report. Sen. Cornyn added that he thought Gov. Kasich had offered some "creative" ideas for handling Medicaid costs if the ACA is repealed.