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Hogan balks at repeal-only plan

July 18th, 2017 by WCBC Radio

The Baltimore Sun reports a bipartisan group of 11 governors, including Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, said Tuesday they oppose Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s plan to repeal the health law known as Obamacare without having a plan to replace it with something better. “The Senate should immediately reject efforts to ‘repeal’ the current system and replace sometime later,” the group of governors, which includes five Republicans, wrote in a joint statement. “This could leave millions of Americans without coverage.

“The best next step is for both parties to come together and do what we can all agree on: Fix our unstable insurance markets,” the governors wrote.

The statement came a day after McConnell failed to secure the votes needed for his plan to repeal andreplace the Affordable Care Act, a top priority of the Trump administration. The Kentucky Republican then suggested that lawmakers proceed to a bill to repeal Obamacare — a measure the Senate has previously approved — and then spend more time negotiating a possible replacement.

Hogan, a Republican, has taken a mostly hands-off approach on weighing into specific federal policy issues and the Trump administration generally. But his decision to sign onto the bipartisan statement Tuesday marks the second time the governor has weighed in publicly to question the direction Senate Republicans have taken on health care

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