Kasich calls for parties to work together on healthcare

Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) is calling for a bipartisan approach to healthcare reform, warning Republicans that their efforts to repeal and replace ObamaCare have so far mirrored Democrats’ “unilateral” passage of former President Obama’s signature healthcare law in 2010.

In an op-ed in The New York Times on Friday, Kasich said that while House GOP leadership’s plan takes some steps toward “conservative, market driven reforms,” it falls short of a viable replacement for ObamaCare because it gets rid of the law’s Medicaid expansion.

“Not having a viable alternative is counterproductive and unnecessarily puts at risk our ability to treat the drug-addicted, mentally ill and working poor who now have access to a dependable source of care,” Kasich wrote.

{mosads}Ohio was among 31 states to accept ObamaCare’s Medicaid expansion, which insures more than 10 million people.

Lasting healthcare reform, Kasich said, hinges on cooperation between Republicans and Democrats, painting the current path as an ongoing cycle of partisan fighting and frequent policy changes.

“A true and lasting reform of the health insurance system must be accomplished by bringing the two sides together, not by replacing one divisive wedge with another,” he wrote.

House Republicans on Monday unveiled a long-awaited bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. But the legislation has been met with backlash from Democrats as well as some conservatives, who argue that the measure doesn’t go far enough, calling it “ObamaCare lite.”

The GOP’s plan gets rid of ObamaCare’s mandate requiring most Americans to buy health insurance and replaces government subsidies with tax credits to encourage people to purchase coverage on the open market.

While President Trump has thrown his support behind the plan, the measure is already seeing signs of a potentially bitter legislative fight.

Kasich, a former Republican presidential candidate, was critical of Trump during the campaign and never endorsed him after ceding the GOP nomination.