Abbott urges Congress to approve bill repealing ‘broken’ Obamacare

With the fate of the latest Republican effort to repeal and replace Obamacare coming down to the wire in Washington, Gov. Greg Abbott issued a statement Monday urging Congress to get it done.

“With health care premiums skyrocketing and access to affordable insurance shrinking, it is irrefutable that Obamacare is broken and must be repealed,” Abbott said. “The question is whether our health care system evolves into a Bernie Sanders-style government-run single-payer health care system, or we empower states with the flexibility to craft patient-driven health care plans that meet the unique needs of their citizens.”

“The Graham-Cassidy bill aspires to the goal of reducing the role of the federal government in health care decisions and giving states more flexibility to help their citizens make health care decisions better tailored to their unique needs,” Abbott said of the GOP plan to repeal most of Obamacare and replace it with block grants to the states that, at least in the near-term, would bring more federal dollars to states like Texas.

However, a new draft from Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Dean Heller, R-Nev., and Ron Johnson, R-Wis., this week modifies the federal funding formula to reduce the gap between states likes Texas that would receive additional federal dollars, and those that would lose money under the plan.

“I trust Texans know better how to address their health care needs than bureaucrats in Washington,” Abbott said.