Some Republican governors criticize Obamacare repeal

In response to House Republicans’ unveiling of a replacement for the Affordable Care Act, some GOP governors have a message: Not so fast.

The proposed legislation, supported by President Trump, would, among other things, make significant changes to Medicaid programs that were expanded under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

The current healthcare law has provided hundreds of billions of dollars of new federal aid to states to help them expand Medicaid coverage to low-income adults.

So far, 31 states — more than half overseen by Republican governors — have signed on to expand their Medicaid coverage. But the new GOP proposal would phase out the federal funds starting in 2020, and would cap how much federal aid states get for Medicaid.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich was among the GOP governors unhappy with the proposal. “Phasing out Medicaid coverage without a viable alternative is counterproductive and unnecessarily puts at risk our ability to treat the drug addicted, mentally ill, and working poor who now have access to a stable source of care,” he said in a statement Wednesday.

Nearly 700,000 Ohioans have benefited from Medicaid expansion under Obamacare — a statistic Kasich touted in his failed quest for the GOP presidential nomination last year.

In Nevada, the number of people covered by Medicaid has doubled since the implementation of Obamacare — from 320,000 to 640,000.

GOP Gov. Brian Sandoval wants lawmakers to seek more input from governors in crafting the replacement legislation and has expressed some skepticism about the new proposal. He has asked Nevada’s Department of Health and Human Services to assess the statewide fiscal effects of the Republican-led House plan.

“My priority is to protect those who now have access to healthcare and ensure they are able to maintain coverage,” Sandoval said.

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner, a Republican who represents a largely Democratic state, told the Chicago Tribune that his constituents “won’t do very well under the changes that they’re recommending.”

“I want to make sure that people in Illinois are not left in the lurch or that ... there’s a lot of pressure to reduce insurance coverage for people in Illinois,” he said.

About 3 million people are on Medicaid in Illinois, with about 650,000 insured under the Medicaid expansion.