President Trump and some Republicans in Congress are backing off on their pledge to immediately repeal the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, soon.
During the presidential campaign, Trump repeatedly promised to get rid of Obamacare as soon as he took office.
The president still calls the act a disaster, but has now said Congress might not repeal it until next year.
Carmen Balber, executive director of the Santa Monica-based nonprofit Consumer Watchdog, said Republicans have no answer to the conundrum they’ve created.
“Which is, we want to get rid of the mandate, we want to get rid of the taxpayer subsidies, but we don’t want anyone to be mad about losing their coverage, or paying more because they have a pre-existing condition,” Balber explained.
More than 1.5 million Californians are enrolled in an Obamacare health plan. More than 90 percent of them receive a federal subsidy to help pay for their coverage.
Their coverage could be in jeopardy if Obamacare is repealed without an adequate replacement plan ready to go.
So far, Republicans have been unable to come up with such a plan.
