Trump pushes for vote to repeal Obamacare

By Ovunc Kutlu

NEW YORK

President-elect Donald Trump is adamant in repealing the healthcare law known as Obamacare as he on Tuesday asked his fellow Republicans in Congress for a vote next week.

The vote to repeal Obamacare would come "probably some time next week", Trump told The New York Times.

Some Republicans in Congress, however, may not move as quickly, since an alternative has not been put in place.

Most members of the Senate and the House of Representatives would reportedly prefer at least two years to form an alternative healthcare plan for Americans. Trump, on the other hand, said he cannot wait that long.

"It won’t be repeal and then two years later go in with another plan ... Long to me would be weeks," he said, adding "the replace will be very quickly or simultaneously, very shortly thereafter."

Speaker of the House of Representatives Paul Ryan said later Tuesday that he agrees with Trump on repealing and replacing Obamacare "concurrently", but there should be time to create another plan.

Currently, around 23 million Americans benefit from Obamacare for their health insurance, and they may be left in the dark at the beginning of next year.

Repealing Obamacare is estimated to increase the budget deficit of the new government as much as $350 billion in the next 10 years, according to Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget report last week.

In addition, Obamacare's repeal can cause 2.6 million jobs lost across the U.S. in 2019, according to a report by private nonpartisan foundation The Commonwealth Fund last week.