GOP senator warns against repealing ObamaCare without replacement

GOP Sen. Tom Cotton (Ark.) on Thursday warned his party not to repeal ObamaCare without a replacement ready to go.

“I think it would not be the right path for us to repeal ObamaCare without laying out a path forward,” Cotton said on MSNBC Thursday evening. 

“I think when we repeal ObamaCare, we need to have the solution in place moving forward. … I do not think we can just repeal ObamaCare and say we’ll give the answer two years from now.” 

{mosads}

Republican leaders have vowed to vote on repealing ObamaCare immediately and delay the repeal until a replacement plan is ready. 

Critics argue that strategy could cause chaos in the insurance markets and prompt insurers to opt out, forcing people off of their health plans. 

Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said Thursday the Republicans would put forward an ObamaCare replacement plan sometime this year. 

But Republicans currently do not have a consensus on what the replacement should look like. 

“We haven’t coalesced around a solution for six years in part because it is so complicated,” he said. “Kicking the can down the road for a year or two years is not going to make it any easier to solve.” 

Other Republicans have also expressed doubt in the “repeal and delay” plan. 

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul warned Republicans not to repeal ObamaCare without voting in a replacement on the same day.  

“If Congress fails to vote on a replacement at the same time as repeal, the repealers risk assuming the blame for the continued unraveling of Obamacare. For mark my words, Obamacare will continue to unravel and wreak havoc for years to come,” he said.