Mass. Democrats Denounce GOP Health Care Bill

Gov. Charlie Baker has estimated the state would lose about $1 billion in federal reimbursement, starting in 2020, should the American Health Care Act pass.

On Tuesday, Baker said, "I think our hope and our expectation is that the issues that are raised not just by people here in Massachusetts but by people in other states who have similar concerns can help affect the nature of the debate and the discussion."

Today also marks the seventh anniversary of the Affordable Care Act. Former President Obama released a statement this morning saying, "The Affordable Care Act is law only because millions of Americans mobilized, and organized, and decided that this fight was about more than health care — it was about the character of our country ... This fight is still about all that today."

Joshua Miller, reporter for The Boston Globe. He tweets @jm_bos.

Katherine Clark, congresswoman from the Massachusetts 5th District. She tweets @repkclark.

On what's next for Democrats, in terms of protecting the Affordable Care Act

"I hope that if [Republicans] do not get the votes for this bill, that they will go back to having a process that actually involves public hearings. That is, not picking an arbitrary deadline like they have today, to force this bill over the line. That we have a chance to see what they're proposing, get an up-to-date cost information and be able to have a dialogue ... But this feels very much like a political ideological check the box."

On if she’s concerned that the next iteration might be a full repeal of Obamacare

"It might be. And I think that [Republicans] will run into the same response that they are seeing at home and in their local town halls and the calls from constituents."

On the argument that people should be able to buy health care or health insurance that is tailored to their needs

"Tailored to their needs does not mean that you don't cover the basics -- the very basics like hospitalization. You can have very inexpensive health insurance that is not going to help you if you have some sort of major medical event happen. And that's what we saw. That was the impetus of the ACA."

On what she thinks about House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) and the ongoing investigation into Russia’s interference in the election

"The whole event is unbelievable ... When you have the chairman of the Intelligence Committee running to the White House, sharing information with them, while he is the one who is supposed to be leading the investigation of this White House and their campaign is just outrageous.

"And you know, whether he is improperly making classified information public, or just being a White House whisperer, time is going to tell. But this is beyond irregular behavior on his part and I certainly join with my colleagues, including Sen. [John] McCain and other ranking Republicans, who are saying this is the last straw. We need absolutely to have an independent commission looking at these allegations and conduct an independent investigation."