than obamacare. he said that low-income americans would have better coverage, expanded use of health savings accounts, hsas. pretax money being used for premiums. preexisting coverage. also something that they would be addressing. do you get the sense that there is going to be tweaks made to the current bill and that those tweaks would be introduced over the next week or so? or are we talking about a new bill entirely? reporter: craig, i have to tell you, after listening to that, i am very confused. i really don t know what else to tell you. this has been a very long, drawn-out process. the white house has been back and forth and back and forth. and a couple, few hours ago, it was repeal without replace. that was the plan. now it s back to being repeal and replace. don t repeal without replacing. but, frankly, both of those paths have shown to be untenable. mitch mcconnell acknowledged yesterday we don t have the 50 votes to agree on a replacement.
necessarily mean that it s affordable coverage? that s a key provision that was included in that, there will be $8 billion to offset some of those costs and develop high-risk pools for those people. to your specific question. there are republicans that take issue with this, but let it be as no surprise, the bill we see now is a far cry from what we will see when it comes off senate. a lot of those concerns from republicans and democrats alike will be addressed in the senate. do you agree, dean, it s not a big deal, because it isn t how it s going to end? no, no, i think this is a huge deal. i think they are playing politics with people s health. i want to be blunt, i m not being partisan when i say this. if this bill as passed by the house, americans would die. i m saying that completely honestly. two reasons. one million will lose their health care coverage. what passed without the congressional budget office securing it, and that would tell
us. 800 billion they re sayive if you lose your insurance you go to medicaid. that s why aarp and ama was so against it. this should not be a game. i hope the senate rewrites it where scratch. this that s for a why they re doing this? no, republicans and democrats wants more health care, they want medicare for all. 60% of americans just two months ago medicare for all is where. representative chris collins says some of what you brought up is simply fearmongering. he says it guarantees coverage for anyone with preexisting coverage for now has continuous coverage. do you think some people s fears are all all these fears are warranted? i think when groups lie aarp are saying people from 50 to 64 will suffering the most, i think you should be concerned. when you have a state waive coverage for preexisting
burden on women s rights. let s discuss. alice stewart is joining us and dean obidala as well. even some republican lawmakers are saying this legislation is likely to hurt low-income and older americans. how do you respond? first off, to address the new york attorney general s concerns with regard to preexisting conditions, look, there s specific language in the bill that was passed by the house that specifically states the bill can in no way be construed as permitting health insurance carriers to deny coverage for people with preexisting conditions. that is specifically stated in the bill. that is something that will not change. that was a last-minute amendment but they can opt or waiver out of that mandate. sure. even if they provide offer offer coverage, it doesn t
preexisting conditions will be covered despite what many on the opposition say. they will be covered. they will be in high-risk pools that will provide them the coverage they so greatly need. that is something that certainly the house addressed and members in the senate will do the same. i do have to bring up what dean mentioned earlier. high-risk pools happened before obamacare and they were very inadequate. they were typically severely underfinisheded. they charged high premiumses excluded coverage, they had waiting lists for enrollment. we talked with a governor of washington state earlier today, who said if they take away the money from medicaid, that will have a whole other impact on helping people who are vulnerable and those who are less fortunate. so i m trying to get how you square what we know from what his story has taught us, what we are hearing from leaders of states that are looking at this, saying the funding just isn t