Gov. Wolf Criticizes Proposed ACA Replacement
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- If Congress goes along with a House Republican proposal to replace the Affordable Care Act, Gov. Tom Wolf says thousands of Pennsylvanians could lose healthcare coverage.
During a stop at Center in the Park in the Germantown section of Philadelphia, Wolf said it would roll back years of progress, especially affecting coverage for seniors.
"You can call it the 'American Whatever It Is Care Act,' it's an age tax," said Wolf.
He says there are more than 700,000 people in the Commonwealth who have access to healthcare who didn't two years ago, because he opted to accept federal funding to expand Medicaid under former President Barack Obama's health care law.
But Wolf says the Republican replacement would cut funding for it.
"Seniors lose coverage, they lose the ability to make their own choices, and they lose money," he said.
Wolf says the proposed plan would allow insurance companies to charge people between ages 55 and 64 five-times more than younger adults for the exact same coverage.
Teresa Osborne, Wolf's secretary of aging, says most adversely affected will be "those just below the Medicare eligibility threshold."
The governor sent letters to members of Congress representing Pennsylvania - the nation's third-biggest delegation of Republicans - asking them to reject the Republican proposal to revise the Affordable Care Act.
Republican leaders in Washington have said they hope to hold votes on the bill before leaving for spring recess in April.
