house democrats are trying to save obamacare after a judge ruled the law was unconstitutional. the attorneys say eliminating the individual mandate tax penalty invalidates the law. earlier a group of democratic attorneys germ announced they d appeal the ruling. here s what could happen if it were upheld. millions of people could lose their health insurance. protections. this is the important one. protections for people with pre-existing conditions could disappear along with caps on out-of-pocket costs and insurers would no longer be required to cover the so-called essential health benefits. joining me, acting administrator of the centers for medicare and medicaid services. andy, i want to remind people, most people are covered through their jobs.
essential health benefits. that was really important. as of right now, the program continues. look, any time there is a threat of people losing their healthcare, it s like a cloud over their heads. you think about you and me. just normal folks growing up, you in concord, me in mcke mckeysrocks, somebody said, we don t have healthcare, that s scary and terrible. long-term, the health care casts are going up too fast. we have to have a comprehensive program based on paying for performance. i get quality at lower cost. that s the way we have to think about this in the long-term. james comey who was on capitol hill, the former fbi director, he was asked to comment on some statements the president made attacking the investigation, calling michael cohen a rat, saying the fbi broke into michael cohen s office, which they didn t. a judge issued a search warrant for them. comey said, republicans used to
ohio governor. i spoke with him a short time ago. governor kasich, what do you make on friday s ruling on obamacare? given you are a republican governor. well, what i m most worried about, john, is the fact that you have a lot of people that could have their healthcare ripped from under them. it doesn t mean it s perfect. it isn t. even the medicaid expense is not perfect. we tried to make improvements so people could still have care and yet we could reduce the cost. let s be clear, there are other ways that you could reform that program. to take it away, what are you talking about? are people going to lose lifetime limits? if you have a sick child and you could go bankrupt if there are lifetime limits that are too low. pre-existing conditions. it does threaten people with pre-existing conditions. if you work for a large employer, how will you be impacted? obamacare had an overlay over essential health benefits.
made by 20 states saying it could not stand on its own after congress got rid of the tax penal penalty. the law will remain in place during an appeal. if the ruling is upheld. the popular consumer protections could disappear and have consequences for tens of millions of americansp nearly 17 million americans could lose their health insurance, including those who gained coverage through the expansion of medicaid. people with pre-existing conditions would also disappear. if the law went away, insurers would also have to cover so-called essential health benefits. things like emergency services, maternity, newborn care. others, would include caps on out of pocket costs or bans on
the trump administration celebrated the ruling but has said the law will remain in place. obamacare will remain in place during the appeal. if the ruling was upheld obamacare s popular consumer protections would disappear and that could have enormous consequences for tens of millions millions of americans. the urban institute estimated 17 million americans would lose their health insurance. protections for people with pre-existing conditions would also disappear. this means insurers could deny coverage for those patients or charge more potentially causing insurance premiums to skyrocket. if the current law went away insurers would no longer have to cover these so-called essential health benefits. look at this long list. emergency services. hospitalization. maternity and newborn care. in other words, you can buy coverage that won t have these