By Yasmeen Abutaleb and Susan Cornwell
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Ten state governors seeking to avoid millions of dollars in federal healthcare cuts under Republican plans to replace Obamacare pressed their case in a meeting with Vice President Mike Pence on Sunday, according to two people briefed on the talks.
The governors are worried that repealing former President Barack Obama’s 2010 healthcare law without a detailed replacement will take coverage away from millions of Americans and land the states with a large financial hit.
Pressure from governors is just one of the challenges facing President Donald Trump’s administration as it tries to
scrap Obama’s Affordable Care Act, one of the Republican’s signature election campaign promises.
During the hour-long meeting, the governors presented Pence and Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price with a proposal to reform the Medicaid program for the poor, the sources said.
Under Obamacare, more than 30 states – including about a dozen with Republican governors – expanded Medicaid by allowing those who earned incomes up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level to enroll.
