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Sen. Casey: Many Stand To Lose If GOP Health Care Bill Passes

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - The battle over the Republican efforts to repeal Obamacare came to Pittsburgh as Sen. Bob Casey held a press conference at the Allegheny County Courthouse.

Sen. Casey said if the bill passes, many stand to lose.

"It seems like they have been producing a different version every couple of hours, and you know what? It's as bad as the others. What they have proposed is not much different than what they have been proposing for weeks and months now," Sen. Casey said.

Sen. Casey and other Democratic leaders campaigned against the Republican health care bill.

"Make no mistake that the problems we would have at the state level would trickle down to Allegheny County and to the City of Pittsburgh, in terms of our ability to deliver human services," State Rep. Dan Frankel said.

This is a debate that has raged on in Washington, and Sen. Casey said the if the Affordable Care Act is not protected, it will impact many people in western Pennsylvania.

"Roughly, 58,000 people losing coverage and a much higher number than that had gained coverage, so why would we -- after taking two or three steps forward in Pennsylvania and around the country, why would we take two steps backwards?" he said.

Among those who stand to lose is 12-year-old Emma Rooney.

Emma and her sister were born prematurely. Both have numerous medical challenges.

"My wife and I are both professionals. We both are fortunate enough to have health insurance through our employers, but the level of care that they require is well beyond our means to pay, so the girls qualify for Medicaid and we are very concerned about that being taken away," Todd Rooney said.

Sen. Casey vows he and the Democrats in Washington will do everything they can to protect Obabmacare.

"All of us lose if this bill passes. My father said it a long time ago. He said the family of Pennsylvania must leave no one out and must leave no one behind. This bill leaves a lot of people behind. We got to stop it this week and move forward in a more positive direction," Sen. Casey said.

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