Heads implode on health care
DIAGNOSIS FOR President Trump’s health care plans: terminal confusion.
Trump on Sunday continued prodding Republican senators to invoke the “nuclear option” for a successful health care bill vote, while his White House counselor said the President still hasn’t made up his mind on whether he’s going to keep Obamacare alive.
Meanwhile, White House budget director Mick Mulvaney (photo inset) said Trump doesn’t believe the Senate should vote on anything else until it passes health care reform — a move that could indefinitely hold up his other legislative goals.
The health care havoc indicated a desperation for swift action after the Senate last week shot down three bills attempting repeal promised by the GOP.
In a morning tweet, Trump for the second day in a row urged GOP senators to fall back on the “nuclear” option of switching to a 51-vote majority.
“Don’t give up Republican Senators, the World is watching: Repeal & Replace ... and go to 51 votes (nuke option), get Cross State Lines & more,” he wrote.
A day earlier, Trump threatened that if a new health care bill didn’t pass soon, he would end the White House’s cost-sharing payments that help keep Obamacare afloat.
The payments, which Trump disparagingly called “BAILOUTS,” help insurers reduce co-pays and deductibles for low-income customers.
Without them, those prices would soar and the market would inevitably be rattled with instability. The White House has not promised to provide payments beyond the end of July.
White House Counselor Kellyanne Conway said Trump will decide “this week” whether he’s going to make good on that threat — leaving a major part of Obamacare’s future hanging.
Adding to the confusion, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price assured that Trump would not allow Obamacare to “implode,” despite all his warnings about doing just that.
“Our job is to follow the law of the land,” Price said, indicating the White House will support Obamacare as long as it’s on the books.
Trump has been goading Republican senators for months to make up their mind on a health care bill — to no avail.
Last week, the Senate mulled over bills proposing three solutions: a repeal and replacement of Obamacare, which Republicans have advocated for seven years; a repeal of Obamacare with no immediate replacement; and a “skinny” repeal that would strip parts of Obamacare but leave the law largely intact.
All three bills failed to win a Republican majority, and Democrats uniformly voted against each one. The week concluded without a clear path forward for any of the three proposals.