Obama challenges Republicans to find Obamacare alternative
Outgoing US President Barack Obama has told Republican lawmakers in Congress they should present a good replacement plan for his legacy-defining healthcare law called the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, before they vote to repeal it.
Obama also said Friday he would be willing to support dismantling his own landmark healthcare law if the GOP offers an improvement.
"I am saying to every Republican right now, if you can in fact put a plan together that is demonstrably better than what is Obamacare, I will publicly support repealing Obamacare" and replacing it with the GOP's plan, Obama told Vox news website during a live-streamed interview from the Blair House in Washington.
"But I want to see it first," the president added.
Obama defended his effort to provide health insurance to millions of uninsured Americans. "If we had a better way to do this, we would have done it," he said, "because I knew I would be judged on how well it worked."
Earlier this week, Congress began taking steps toward repealing Obamacare, but neither Republican lawmakers nor President-elect Donald Trump has put forward a replacement plan.
"If they're so convinced that they're going to be able to do it better, why is it they're trying to repeal this so quick?" Obama asked. "What is it they're afraid of?"
"If it actually works, I will be the first one to say, "Great"," Obama said. But he added, "I suspect that will not happen."
Healthcare experts have said that about 30 million people could lose health insurance if Obamacare is repealed without a proper replacement.
Republicans criticize Obamacare as an excessive government intrusion into the healthcare market and contend it is harming economic growth by burdening businesses. They say they have a plan to replace it but have offered few details.
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