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Tom Wolf Defends Affordable Care Act At Philadelphia Town Hall

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf reacts to President-elect Donald Trump's call to congress to expeditiously repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

Many Congressional leaders say after repealing the Affordable Care Act, it may take months or years to replace it.

On Tuesday evening, during a town hall meeting in Philadelphia Governor Wolf said if the ACA is scrapped, a break in coverage could be disastrous for a lot of Pennsylvanians.

"If he takes that away, and doesn't place it with something which is similar, that's 700,000 people who are not going to know what to do when they need healthcare."

Wolf said the ACA is not perfect, but it is a great first step in universal healthcare.

But he adds that under it, Pennsylvania went from nearly 20 percent uninsured, to about six percent.

"If we move away from heath insurance we're just going to have more people go to the emergency room, that's more uncompensated care for hospitals. Those of us who pay for insurance, that's a subsidy we're paying for all those people who are not paying for their healthcare."

Wolf also adds, that the Affordable Care Act has helped create jobs in Pennsylvania and around the country.

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