Straw poll of American expats finds over half feel repeal of Obamacare would discourage them from returning to U.S.

The bill before the U.S. Congress to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as "Obamacare," has American residents in Japan worried, with some saying the nullification would prevent them from returning home.

The Japan Times conducted an online straw poll from late June through last week of U.S. citizens living in Japan about the health care bill, with just over half saying the Republicans-sponsored Obamacare replacement plan would discourage them from moving back to the U.S. The majority of the other respondents replied the bill doesn't affect their future because they plan to live in Japan, but they were largely critical of the repeal, saying it would worsen their access to U.S. health care.

If passed, the bill, nicknamed "Trumpcare," and now being debated in the Senate, could strip 22 million people of health care coverage by 2026, according to a recent report published by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. It also calls for deeper cuts to Medicaid, a health care plan mainly for the poor in subsequent decades.