A leading trade group representing hospitals has expressed fears about the Republican health-care bill, saying poor Americans could lose insurance.

The American Hospital Association (AHA) said current provisions for “our most vulnerable” would be thrown into doubt, reports the BBC.

President Donald Trump met lawmakers on Wednesday to rally them behind the bill, after a stormy 24 hours.

Moderate Republicans are concerned people will be stripped of cover, while conservatives sense federal overreach.

The bill, called the American Health Care Act, would replace the signature law of President Barack Obama, so-called Obamacare.

It would limit future federal funding for Medicaid, which covers low-income people, abolish the requirement that everyone should be insured and replace subsidies with tax credits.

Overall, the plan is expected to cover fewer people than those who gained insurance under the Obama administration’s Affordable Care Act, but we will not know the exact numbers - or the cost - for about another week.

BDST: 1053 HRS, MAR 09, 2017
SR