PROVIDENCE — Rhode Island officials say more than 70,000 people in the state could lose medical coverage through the Republican-backed health care bill before the U.S. House.

Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo is expected to outline her concerns on Thursday.

State health officials said Wednesday it would be hard for the state to maintain coverage for some insured residents once federal funding is cut. The state estimates it would have to pay $9 million in the first year of the overhaul, and eventually more than $200 million a year to make up for proposed federal cuts to the Medicaid program, affecting more than 70,000 low earners in the state.

Former President Barack Obama's 2010 Affordable Care Act expanded Medicaid coverage, but the bill being considered in the House aims to repeal and replace Obama's law.

The Medicaid expansion would gradually be phased out as current Medicaid recipients drop out and new recipients, under the overhaul plan, would be blocked from the expanded federal funding after 2020.

State health care officials also worry about a projected loss of millions of dollars in public health funding and a destabilization of the state's health insurance exchange.