In the News

Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.), a physician, is expressing concern over what will happen to millions of Americans if ObamaCare is struck down.

“I have a lot of concerns ... about the people who currently have a health insurance based on the  [Affordable Care Act (ACA)], and I think most Republicans do,” Bucshon told Hill.TV on “Rising.”

“Whatever happens, we don’t want millions of people to lose their health insurance,” he continued.

Bucshon added that ensuring that people have health insurance is especially important to him — not only as a lawmaker, but also as a doctor.

“If the Supreme Court ultimately decides the ACA is unconstitutional, Congress will need to act very quickly to make sure that no one loses their health coverage because that’s very important to me as a doctor,” he told Hill.TV.

A federal appeals court hinted on Tuesday that ObamaCare’s individual mandate would be struck down as unconstitutional. The three-judge panel, however, was not clear about whether the entire law would be overturned.

Two Republican-appointed judges on the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals questioned whether the Obama-era health care law could stand if the individual mandate was overturned.

The lawsuit, which is backed by the Trump administration, was brought forth by a coalition of GOP-led states.

Republicans have repeatedly tried to dismantle ObamaCare. Last year, a federal judge in Texas invalidated the entire law.

More than 20 million Americans could potentially lose their insurance if the law is ruled constitutional and the number of those uninsured is expected to skyrocket.

Bucshon said he is confident that ObamaCare eventually will be taken up by the Supreme Court.

“I think the decision here will be something probably in favor of scrapping the entire ACA, just like the judge in Texas did,” he told Hill.TV. “But I do think, ultimately, it’s going to go to the Supreme Court.”

Republicans have yet to come to a consensus on how they would go about repealing and replacing ObamaCare. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has made it clear that he has no intention of taking up any repeal and replace legislation before the 2020 elections.

However, McConnell said that if ObamaCare is overturned, the Senate would work to restore the law’s protections for those with pre-existing conditions like diabetes and epilepsy.

Bucshon echoed these sentiments.

“That’s the big issue — how do we cover the high-cost individuals in the health care space,” he said. “ObamaCare did that by putting everyone in the same pool — the risk pool — and that hasn’t worked because it’s driven up costs for everyone.”