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Now that the new Congress is poised to repeal the Affordable Care Act, groups that favor it are trying to rally public support with more urgency.
The Tennessee Justice Center is helping people organize letter writing campaigns to the state's Republican senators, according to the organization's director. It also worked with the national advocacy group Alliance for Healthcare Security to hold a press conference Wednesday that featured a Tennessee doctor and patients who've benefited from Obamacare.
At this point, the goal for the organizations is not necessarily to stop lawmakers from repealing Obamacare. Instead, Nashville gastroenterologist Robert Herring explained to reporters, they want Congress to have a replacement ready that includes provisions from the existing law, like allowing people to enroll for insurance with pre-existing conditions.
"I'm just hoping, if they want to get rid of this system, that they will come up with a better alternative," he said.
Both of Tennessee's senators have already expressed similar desires. In a statement, Lamar Alexander said that Congress needs to figure out "how to replace it before fully repealing it."
Alexander's opinion carries weight: He chairs the Senate health committee, which means he'll help craft parts of the bill.
Meanwhile, Rep. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee also echoed the call to "repeal and replace" the Affordable Care Act. She told NPR’s Morning Edition that the process will require a “systematic, orderly phase-out and phase-in” of the new measures but couldn’t provide a timeline on how quickly that would happen."We are working to solidify that. You have to work with your provider networks and your insurance networks to determine what is going to be that period of time," she said. Blackburn also said some “common sense” measures of Obamacare would likely remain intact, including covering patients with pre-existing conditions or young adults still on their parents’ plans.
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