Sen. Bernie Sanders did not hold anything back Thursday when he condemned the House passage of the Republican-backed bill to replace Obamacare.
“If the bill passed today in the House became law, thousands of Americans would die, because they would no longer have access to health care,” Sanders told CNN’s Anderson Cooper on “AC360.”
The Vermont lawmaker and former presidential candidate claimed the Obamacare replacement provides billions of dollars in tax breaks to the wealthiest 2%.
“What kind of health care bill are we talking about when you throw 24 million people off of health insurance,” Sanders said.
Cooper asked Sanders to weigh in on health care giant Aetna pulling out of Obamacare in Virginia, citing major losses.
“What (Republicans) are doing now is consciously sabotaging the Affordable Care Act,” Sanders said. “For example, not enforce the individual mandate — many billions of dollars are not coming into the system and then rates are going up. And then they say, ‘Oh look, it’s a terrible situation rates are going up’.”
Asked whether he believed the bill will get through the Senate in some form, Sanders interrupted Cooper.
“Anderson, let me break the bad news to the president. Mr. President, I am sorry to disappoint you. This bill in its current form is not getting through the Senate. No way, no way.”
