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Ohio Sen. Rob Portman Says Obamacare Repeal-and-Replace Vote Could Come By Month's End

Ideastream Public Media | By Kabir Bhatia

Published January 4, 2017 at 7:08 PM EST

Portman says he's convinced the bill has enough support and promise to keep the funding going.

Ohio's Republican Sen. Rob Portman says a vote is likely to happen by the end of the month on the beginning of the end for the Affordable Care Act.

Portman says a budget resolution will be voted on in the next week, which would establish when the Senate will vote on a reconciliation bill. That bill would decide on the type of transition to a new system, which could take two to three years.

“During that time period, people who are under the exchanges -- or are covered under expanded Medicaid -- would have the opportunity to continue to do so. So the Medicaid expansion that Ohio chose to do would continue throughout that transition.”

Portman added that a long-term goal would be to reform Medicaid so that states can waive some mandates of the program.

“If somebody wants a high deductible with a catastrophic coverage, they can buy that. But if they want a coverage that is a lower deductible that has a richer benefit package, they can buy that as well – and let the market decide that.”

The federal government rejected one such plan – dubbed HealthyOhio– last fall.