Paul Ryan Confronted by Cancer Patient Who Says Obamacare Saved His Life

By Tara Culp-Ressler, ThinkProgress

13 January 17

“Why would you repeal the Affordable Care Act without a replacement?”

ouse Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) was confronted at a town hall on Thursday night by a man who said Obamacare saved his life after he was diagnosed with cancer?—?and asked Ryan why the GOP is currently trying to dismantle the law.

At Thursday’s event, which was sponsored by CNN and moderated by Jake Tapper, Jeff Jeans introduced himself as a lifelong Republican who once worked on the Reagan and Bush campaigns. “Just like you, I hated the Affordable Care Act,” he told Ryan.

But then, at 49 years old, Jeans was diagnosed with a curable type of cancer. His doctors gave him just six weeks to live if he didn’t pursue treatment.

“Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, I’m standing here today alive,” he said. “I rely on the Affordable Care Act to be able to purchase my own insurance. Why would you repeal the Affordable Care Act without a replacement?”

Republicans have been rushing to undo President Obama’s signature health legislation even though they still haven’t said what should come next. For the past six years, the GOP has failed to coalesce around a viable Obamacare replacement plan. Conservative lawmakers typically propose a combination of the same old Republican ideas about health care?—?none of which would preserve access to insurance at the same levels as Obamacare, which has extended coverage to 20 million Americans.

Despite those logistical challenges, GOP leaders insist that a replacement bill will be introduced “simultaneously” with Obamacare repeal.

“We want to do this at the same time, and in some cases in the same bill,” Ryan told Jeans at the town hall. “So we want to advance repealing this law with its replacement at the same time.”

Repealing Obamacare before finalizing a replacement would be incredibly unpopular among the American public. According to recent polling, 75 percent of Americans want the GOP to either leave Obamacare alone or roll it back only after readying a replacement law.