--- title: Health Care Bill: President Barack Obama Weighs In description: President Barack Obama is urging lawmakers to "step back and measure what’s really at stake" when considering a new health bill. canonical: https://time.com/4829343/barack-obama-senate-healthcare-bill/ author: Alana Abramson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-06-22T20:17:17.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T16:16:58.753Z article:section: Politics og:title: Read Barack Obama’s Statement on GOP Health Plan og:description: 'This bill will do you harm' og:url: https://time.com/4829343/barack-obama-senate-healthcare-bill/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt996e144ff156debe/6988d2ef096a9434a869e7b3/gettyimages-6884063541.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3969 og:image:height: 2233 og:image:alt: German Media Award 2016 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Read Barack Obama’s Statement on GOP Health Plan twitter:description: 'This bill will do you harm' twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt996e144ff156debe/6988d2ef096a9434a869e7b3/gettyimages-6884063541.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'This Bill Will Do You Harm.’ Read Barack Obama’s Statement on GOP Health Plan > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Alana Abramson](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Jun 22, 2017 8:17 PM UTC  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](https://time.com/author/alana-abramson/)  ## Alana Abramson Jun 22, 2017 8:17 PM UTC [President Barack Obama](http://time.com/4821085/obama-jay-z-songwriters-hall-fame/) 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) by Senate Republicans. The measure would replace the [Affordable Care Act](http://time.com/4755983/ahca-health-care-lawmakers-congress-exempt/), a crowning achievement of Obama’s tenure. Describing the bill in a [Facebook post](https://www.facebook.com/barackobama/posts/10154996557026749) 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/) 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. 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