At least 15 Republican governors have raised concerns about the House GOP’s health care bill amid the fiery debate surrounding the long-promised repeal of Obamacare. And no governors have publicly expressed strong support for the American Health Care Act.

Although the GOP governors generally support the repeal and replacement of Obamacare, coverage losses predicted by the Congressional Budget Office have some withholding support from the bill. Others think the bill is not conservative enough, while some are unhappy the bill does not give the states more flexibility.

On Monday, the CBO estimated 24 million more people will be uninsured over a decade under this law compared to the Affordable Care Act.

“This certainly signals there is more work to be done,” Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said during an appearance on CNN Tuesday morning. “And there needs to be some adjustments to relieve some of that cost-shift to the states and to make sure we don’t go back to where we were before, which was that we just had our emergency rooms filled with those who did not have coverage.”

The bill would phase out the Medicaid expansion established by Obamacare that some GOP governors brought to their states. Although some GOP governors rejected Medicaid expansion, those who accepted it are worried the bill will lead to drops in coverage in their state.

“Phasing out Medicaid coverage without a viable alternative is counterproductive and unnecessarily puts at risk our ability to treat the drug-addicted, mentally ill and working poor who now have access to a stable source of care,” Ohio Gov. John Kasich said Mar. 8, as the Associated Press reported.

Vermont’s Phil Scott, New Hampshire’s Chris Sununu, Michigan’s Rick Snyder, Massachusetts’ Charlie Baker and Illinois’ Bruce Rauner also have expressed concern about citizens in their states losing coverage.

“There’s no doubt that expanded Medicaid has provided treatment options for a lot of folks that otherwise may not have had that option available,” Sununu told the Concord Monitor Tuesday.

Even Vice President Mike Pence’s former lieutenant governor Eric Holcomb, who became Indiana’s governor when Pence was sworn in as VP, wants the state’s Medicaid expansion protected.

Others governors, such as Kentucky’s Matt Bevin, Maine’s Paul LePage and Mississippi’s Phil Bryant, are echoing sentiments from conservative members of Congress and conservative organizations who do not believe the bill is conservative enough.

“Republican voters who gave majorities to both chambers and delivered the White House do not want Obamacare Lite,” Bryant wrote on Facebook Mar. 8. “I know it takes tremendous courage to turn back an entitlement once it is in place. But with $20 trillion in national debt, we best start making some tough decisions.”

“Flexibility” has become a buzzword among governors critical of the bill. Baker, Snyder, Arizona’s Doug Ducey, Tennessee’s Bill Haslam, Wisconsin’s Scott Walker and Nevada’s Brian Sandoval say there is work to be done on the bill to ensure it grants the states the flexibility they need.

“The plan that was released doesn’t reflect what the governors want, which is flexibility,” Ducey told a local radio station in Phoenix. “I want flexibility at the state level to improve our health care system, to make these reforms. This is still prescriptive from Washington, D.C.”

Walker, the chair of the Republican Governor’s Association, told the AP that he had a conversation with Republican governors Mar. 7 who remain united in repealing Obamacare but want “maximum flexibility.”

Snyder told Michigan Radio Mar. 10 he appreciated the efforts from Washington to get feedback from the governors on health care, but said the plan “doesn’t reflect the comments we made.”

Sandoval was more explicit in expressing his displeasure with Republicans in Washington.

“We’ve said all along, ‘Work with the governors,’ that it should be a governor-led effort and for the Congress to rely on the governors,” Sandoval told the AP Mar. 7. “Well, they came out with their own bill, which doesn’t include anything that the governors have talked about.”

Five other governors — South Dakota’s Dennis Dauguard, North Dakota’s Doug Burgum, Utah’s Gary Herbert, New Jersey’s Chris Christie and Walker — have remained slightly more optimistic by focusing on the bill as a work in progress. However, none of them have explicitly spoken in support of the bill.

Source: http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03/gop-governors-react-health-care-bill-236041