President Obama meets with Democrats on Capitol Hill today, looking for ways to preserve his signature health care law in the face of stiff Republican opposition.
Senate Republicans have already taken the first step toward repealing Obamacare. On Tuesday, they introduced a budget resolution that would ultimately allow Republicans to unravel large parts of the Affordable Care Act with a simple majority vote.
Democrats still hope to defend the law, which has extended health insurance to some 20 million Americans. Repealing the law would very likely strip protection from many of those people. So far, Republicans have not reached agreement on how to replace Obamacare. And the outgoing administration mocks the idea of repeal now and replace later.
"That ultimately is nothing more than just bait and switch," said White House spokesman Josh Earnest.
The American Medical Association issued a similar note of caution in an open letter to lawmakers. The association, which supported the Affordable Care Act when it passed seven years ago, acknowledged that the law is imperfect, but said any effort to cut costs or increase choice should at least preserve the existing level of coverage.