Outgoing Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid told congressional Republicans that people will die if they repeal Obamacare, the Hill reported.
Reid also said that congressional Republicans do not have the “nerve” to roll back Obamacare.
“They don’t have enough nerve to repeal Obamacare. And if they do, they are just a lot more visionless than I can imagine,” Reid told The Huffington Post.
Republican leadership has vowed to repeal Obamacare within President-elect Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office, but have said that it could take years before those who have access to health insurance because of the law will have to transition to a new program.
Obamacare supporters have said that repealing the law could destabilize the insurance market and leave consumers without health insurance.
Reid said he does not think Republicans will mind a marketplace collapse because it will pressure Democrats into compromising to create a replacement.
“Can you think of — maybe there is something more cold and calculated and mean-spirited than that: ‘Let’s have a few people die.’ Because that’s what’ll happen. You get rid of Obamacare, people are going to die,” he said.