US House Votes to Repeal Obamacare

US House Republicans on Friday won passage of a measure starting the process of dismantling Obamacare, despite concerns about not having a ready replacement and the potential financial cost of repealing Democratic President Barack Obama's landmark health insurance law.

The House of Representatives voted 227-198 to instruct committees to draft legislation by a target date of January 27 that would repeal the 2010 Affordable Health Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare. The Senate approved the same measure early Thursday.

No Democrat supported the initiative, while nine Republicans voted against the measure.

With this vote, Republicans began delivering on their promise to end Obamacare, which also was a campaign promise of Republican president-elect, Donald Trump.

The program, which expanded health coverage to some 20 million people, has been plagued by increases in insurance premiums and deductibles, as a result of which some large insurers left the system.

The resolution passed by the House and Senate does not need presidential approval, since it is part of an internal congressional budget process. But once the Obamacare repeal legislation is drafted, both chambers will need to approve it and a presidential signature will be required.

By that time, Trump will have been sworn in as president. He has urged Congress to act quickly to repeal and replace the Democratic program.

In the past few years, the House has voted more than 60 times to repeal or alter Obamacare, but Republicans had no hope a repeal would become law as long as Obama was president and could veto their bills.

Trump applauded Congress's efforts with a Friday morning tweet saying, "The 'Unaffordable' Care Act will soon be history!"

The president-elect, who takes office on January 20, pressed lawmakers this week to repeal and replace it "essentially simultaneously".

Republican leaders would like to finish the repeal process within weeks, but some lawmakers think it could take far longer.

The nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimated repealing Obama's signature health insurance law entirely would cost roughly $350 billion over 10 years.

Republicans say a good replacement would give states more control of a healthcare program and provide more stability on health insurance premiums.