Barack Obama attacks the 'fundamental meanness' of Republican healthcare plan

Barack Obama has spoken out about Republican plans to repeal and replace his healthcare system, attacking what he called the "fundamental meanness" of their bill, and urging them to reconsider.

The proposal was published on Thursday, with Republicans hoping to secure its approval within a week.

That looks unlikely, given that four senators said hours after the bill was published that they could not vote in its favour. That is a problem for the party leadership - Republicans hold 52 out of 100 Senate seats, so they can afford only two defections.

Mr Obama, writing on Facebook, urged all senators to reject the proposal.

"The Senate bill, unveiled today, is not a health care bill," he wrote. "It’s a massive transfer of wealth from middle-class and poor families to the richest people in America. It hands enormous tax cuts to the rich and to the drug and insurance industries, paid for by cutting health care for everybody else. 

"Simply put, if there’s a chance you might get sick, get old, or start a family – this bill will do you harm."

The plan cuts taxes by nearly $1 trillion over the next decade, mostly for corporations and the richest families in America.

"I hope our Senators ask themselves – what will happen to the Americans grappling with opioid addiction who suddenly lose their coverage? What will happen to pregnant mothers, children with disabilities, poor adults and seniors who need long-term care once they can no longer count on Medicaid?

"What will happen if you have a medical emergency when insurance companies are once again allowed to exclude the benefits you need, send you unlimited bills, or set unaffordable deductibles? What impossible choices will working parents be forced to make if their child’s cancer treatment costs them more than their life savings?

"To put the American people through that pain – while giving billionaires and corporations a massive tax cut in return – that’s tough to fathom."

The Republicans have only released a draft of their plan so far, which does not include cost analysis.

But they argue that Mr Obama's flagship plan was failing, with soaring insurance premiums for many Americans and a lack of choice in multiple states as to who provided their insurance.

The former president, however, admitted that Obamacare "was not perfect".

But he said it helped millions of Americans and should be built upon, rather than scrapped.

Mr Obama argued that more than 90 per cent of Americans now "know the security of health insurance," thanks to his system.

He said that health care costs were rising at the slowest pace in fifty years, and pointed out that women can no longer be charged more for their insurance, nor can people be denied insurance due to a preexisting condition.

He urged Republicans and Democrats to try and work out a solution acceptable to all.

"This debate has always been about something bigger than politics," he concluded.

"It’s about the character of our country – who we are, and who we aspire to be. And that’s always worth fighting for."