Updated on Tuesday, Dec. 18 at 3:58 p.m. with information about a new bill filed by Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston.

AUSTIN — Gov. Greg Abbott said Texas will work to pass its own health care law to replace the Affordable Care Act if it's ultimately struck down in the courts.

After Friday's ruling by a Fort Worth judge that struck down the federal health care law, Abbott said Monday he will consult with the Trump administration on immediate next steps while state lawmakers and regulators fashion their own plan to succeed it.

"As the ACA lawsuit goes through the appellate process, Texas will work with the administration to get appropriate waivers from federal law allowing insurers to provide coverage at lower rates while ensuring that Texans with pre-existing conditions continue to have access to quality health care," Abbott said.

"Additionally, Texas will begin the process of reforming state regulations and proposing changes to laws that will achieve those same goals. Importantly, Texas will strive to expand health care insurance coverage, reduce the cost of health care and ensure that Texans with pre-existing conditions are protected."

Abbott then tweeted Texas would "be ready with replacement health care insurance that includes coverage for preexisting conditions."

U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor in Fort Worth struck down the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, late Friday. He ruled that without the individual mandate, which last year's federal tax law repealed, the health care law is unconstitutional.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who filed the lawsuit, came under fire during his re-election campaign this year for specifically targeting coverage for pre-existing conditions. Texas has the highest number of children without health care coverage in the country, a recent report showed, and had the highest overall uninsured rate in 2016.

More than 1.1 million Texans had an ACA policy in 2018.

Republicans pressured

Obamacare will remain in place while O'Connor's decision is appealed. Meanwhile, conservative voices have urged Republican leaders to pass state laws that could replace Obamacare if O'Connor's decision is upheld.

"It's time to get started now, not to wait for the ultimate outcome of this case," Rob Henneke, general counsel of the Austin-based Texas Public Policy Foundation, said in a call with reporters Monday morning. When Texas lawmakers convene their 2019 session in January, he said, they should be "looking at the issue of pre-existing conditions. We need to look at ways of creating guaranteed-protection pools."

Henneke added that states should prioritize "market-based solutions but also regulations that will provide for choice."

Stacey Pogue, a health care policy analyst with the left-leaning Center for Public Policy Priorities, said she was worried that Henneke was suggesting a return to the high-risk pools that offered separate coverage to the sickest patients who weren't covered by their employers. She said the waivers Abbott referenced could be used to could pay claims for these people, but warned that the program could end if Obamacare is struck down.

Plus, Pogue warned, brand new changes made to the waiver requirements allowing so-called short-term plans could result in people getting handed "junk" health insurance. It all depends on what Abbott and the state's other Republican leaders truly want, she said.

"We welcome the governor and state lawmakers focusing their attention where it should have been a long time ago," Pogue said. "But it would take a commitment that we have not seen in this state to making good coverage affordable."

Earlier changes

Texas has already made some changes to its health care laws in the event Obamacare ends.

In 2011, Gov. Rick Perry signed a law that would allow Texas to enter into compacts with other states to ask for more control over their health care rules and laws, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Several other states also enacted similar laws.

It's unclear which state regulations and laws will be targeted for change. Several Democrats have already proposed some fixes ahead of the legislative session, which begins Jan. 8. On Thursday, for example, Rep. Garnet Coleman filed a bill that would expand Medicaid in Texas and codify Obamacare in state law.

"I have authored similar bills in the previous three sessions," Coleman said in a prepared statement. "I am encouraged by Governor Abbott's comments. ... However, I am not in favor of repeal and replace."

But the state's GOP leaders have not laid out specific priorities.

Dennis Bonnen, the presumptive new speaker of the Texas House, declined to comment on Abbott's statement Monday.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who leads the Senate, previously asked senators to discuss the health care marketplaces ahead of next year's session.

Specifically, he wants senators to: