GOP senators to introduce ObamaCare replacement plan

by Rebecca Savransky - 01/23/17 7:24 AM ET

Two Republican senators on Monday will introduce legislation to replace ObamaCare.

Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said in a statement their new plan would afford more power to the states and help to cover Americans who currently aren’t insured.

Cassidy’s office described the legislation as “an Obamacare replacement plan that would: return power to the states; increase access to quality, affordable health care for all Americans; improve patient choice; and begin to bring coverage to the nearly 30 million Americans who still do not have health insurance.”

President Trump during his campaign and after his victory vowed to repeal and replace former President Obama’s signature healthcare legislation.

On Friday, just hours after he was sworn into office, the president signed an executive order that directs federal agencies to ease the “regulatory burden” of the law.

Kellyanne Conway, a top Trump aide, said Sunday the administration could stop enforcing the ObamaCare mandate that Americans get health insurance.

{mosads}The president has said he wants repeal and replace to happen “simultaneously.”

Collins last week emphasized the importance of repealing and replacing the law at the same time.

“Some of my colleagues have argued for immediate repeal without any replacement,” Collins said on the Senate floor, “an option that I reject for it risks leaving millions of vulnerable Americans without affordable health insurance and would undo important consumer protections provided by current law.”

Jordain Carney contributed to this report, which was updated at 7:36 a.m.

Tags Susan Collins