--- description: President Barack Obama is urging lawmakers to "step back and measure what’s really at stake" when considering a new health bill. title: Read Barack Obama’s Statement on GOP Health Plan image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt996e144ff156debe/6988d2ef096a9434a869e7b3/gettyimages-6884063541.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Congress](/tag/congress/) ## Congress Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 'This Bill Will Do You Harm.’ Read Barack Obama’s Statement on GOP Health Plan  by [Alana Abramson](/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 22, 2017 8:17 PM CUT  Former US president Barack Obama during the German Media Award 2016 at Kongresshaus on May 25, 2017 in Baden-Baden, Germany. Former US president Barack Obama during the German Media Award 2016 at Kongresshaus on May 25, 2017 in Baden-Baden, Germany.Isa Foltin—WireImage  by [Alana Abramson](/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 22, 2017 8:17 PM CUT [President Barack Obama](http://time.com/4821085/obama-jay-z-songwriters-hall-fame/ "undefined") is urging lawmakers to “step back and measure what’s really at stake” when considering a [health care bill proposed Thursday](http://time.com/4827805/senate-republican-health-care-obamacare-ahca-draft/?xid=homepage "undefined") by Senate Republicans. The measure would replace the [Affordable Care Act](http://time.com/4755983/ahca-health-care-lawmakers-congress-exempt/ "undefined"), a crowning achievement of Obama’s tenure. Describing the bill in a [Facebook post](https://www.facebook.com/barackobama/posts/10154996557026749 "undefined") as “a massive transfer of wealth from middle-class and poor families to the richest people in America,” Obama encouraged the Senate to put Americans’ well-being over partisan politics. “I recognize that repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act has become a core tenet of the [Republican Party.](http://time.com/4713720/john-oliver-on-republicans/ "undefined") Still, I hope that our Senators, many of whom I know well, step back and measure what’s really at stake, and consider that the rationale for action, on health care or any other issue, must be something more than simply undoing something that Democrats did,” Obama wrote. Read Obama’s full statement below: --- > “” --- ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4829343/barack-obama-senate-healthcare-bill/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4829343/barack-obama-senate-healthcare-bill/"},"headline":"'This Bill Will Do You Harm.’ Read Barack Obama’s Statement on GOP Health Plan","datePublished":"2017-06-22T20:17:17.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T16:16:58.753Z","description":"'This bill will do you harm'","url":"https://time.com/4829343/barack-obama-senate-healthcare-bill/","keywords":["Congress","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt996e144ff156debe/6988d2ef096a9434a869e7b3/gettyimages-6884063541.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alana Abramson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt996e144ff156debe/6988d2ef096a9434a869e7b3/gettyimages-6884063541.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"German Media Award 2016","caption":"German Media Award 2016","creditText":"Isa Foltin—WireImage","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/congress/","name":"Congress"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4829343/barack-obama-senate-healthcare-bill/","name":"'This Bill Will Do You Harm.’ Read Barack Obama’s Statement on GOP Health Plan"}}]}] ```