Some wait for Obamacare repeal and replacement with anxiety, others with anticipation

SEATTLE -- Members of the U.S. House plan to vote on repealing and replacing Obamacare on Thursday.

The White House is telling the majority Republicans to vote yes, to keep the GOP campaign promise to scuttle Obamacare.

Here at home, some people are bracing for the worst, while others say the repeal would be a huge relief.

Linda Wilson is a single mother of two. She said she has had to work three jobs at one point to acquire everything she has today.

“You make a choice to work or you make a choice to live off the government,” Wilson said.

To her, Obamacare is just another tax.

“Another free entitlement from the federal government,” Wilson said.

At the same time, she said, her insurance premiums under Obamacare have shot up.

“Mine more than doubled, $364 to $784; that was ridiculous,” Wilson said.

She said she believes the Affordable Care Act cost her $16,000 more in a two-year period than what she would have paid to insurance companies before the program was enacted.

“Middle class got hit, businesses got hit,” Wilson said.

Her frustration over Obamacare, she said, is one of the reasons she voted for Donald Trump for president.

“As a business owner, as an individual, I am looking for tax relief,” Wilson said.

As she waits for the president to fulfill his campaign promise, health care experts in Washington state met on Wednesday to talk about what's at stake.

Michael Marchand, with the Washington Health Benefit Exchange, said 700,000 people in Washington state "could potentially lose their health insurance.”

Marchand said the people most at risk of losing coverage are the ones covered by Obamacare's Medicaid expansion -- people in the lowest-income bracket.

“We are hearing from people concerned,” Marchand said.

Marchand is telling those people that even with a repeal, their health insurance is good for the rest of the year.

“Some people may come out ahead more than others,” Marchand said.

What the final outcome will look like is anyone's guess, but Wilson has faith.

“It's going to take a while to unwind all of that, everybody needs to take a breath and let Congress do their job,” Wilson said.

Wilson said she does not want to see anyone lose health coverage and she believes safeguards will be put in place so that does not happen.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office last week said 24 million more Americans would be uninsured by 2026 under the House Republican health care bill than under Obamacare, including 14 million by next year.