RACINE - The House voted Thursday to repeal parts of the Affordable Care Act, it's the first real chance republicans have to dismantle the act.
The bill passed by the house keeps the requirement that family policies cover grown children until the age of 26, and it has a pool of money--- albeit a small pool--- to help people with pre-existing conditions afford coverage.
However, states could get a "waiver" so insurers can charge higher premiums for pre-existing conditions.
Thursday President Trump praised speaker Ryan for his work to get the bill passed in the house while protesters gathered outside Ryan's office in Racine in opposition to the health care repeal.
"My wife has pre-existing conditions," Mike Thompson said.
"I have preexisting conditions. 80 percent of people over 55 in wisconsin have preexisting conditions. This is ridiculous," he continued.
Thompson rallied outside speaker Ryan's office while holding a sign that read "Repeal and replace Paul Ryan". Thompson said he rather replace the congressman than do away with a healthcare system he says he's grown to rely on.
"I retired two months ago, I planned for my retirement. I worked, I saved," Thompson said.
"Within four weeks of my retirement, [Republicans] have come up a health care system that threatens my retirement," he continued.
Janet Mitchell of Racine said she shares Thompson sentiments. According to Mitchell, the bill passing in the house has ignited a few concerns.
"We all should be concerned because it is going to affect the majority of americans because if it's not us it could be one of our kids," she said.
Robert Kraig, Executive Director of Citizen Action of Wisconsin, helped organize the rally. According to Kraig, one of the most popular things the Affordable Care Act did was help end
discrimination against people with preexisting conditions. Kraig said if this new bill becomes law, that could all change and high-risk pools only tackle a small percentage of the problem.
"They'd only cover about five percent of people with preexisting conditions and in this bill," Kraig said."They're incredibly underfunded."
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