Trump tries to pressure Senate GOP
BRANCHBURG, N.J. — President Donald Trump urged Senate Republicans on Sunday to “not let the American people down,” as the contentious debate over overhauling the U.S. health care systems shifts to Congress’ upper chamber, where a vote is potentially weeks, if not months, away.
Some senators have already voiced displeasure with the health care bill that cleared the House last week, with Republicans providing all the “yes” votes in the 217-213 count. They cited concerns about potential higher costs for older people and those with pre-existing conditions, along with cuts to Medicaid.
Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, a moderate Republican whose vote will be critical to getting a bill to Trump’s desk and who voiced similar concerns, said the Senate would not take up the House bill.
“The Senate is starting from scratch. We’re going to draft our bill, and I’m convinced we will take the time to do it right,” she said.
Mick Mulvaney, Trump’s budget director, also said the version that gets to the president will likely differ from the House measure. Such a scenario would then force the House and Senate to work together to forge a compromise bill that both houses can support.
Collins also complained that the House rushed a vote before the Congressional Budget Office could complete its cost-benefit analysis.
Eager to check off a top campaign promise, Trump sought Sunday to pressure Senate Republicans on the issue.
“Republican senators will not let the American people down!” Trump tweeted from his private golf course in central New Jersey, where he has stayed since late Thursday. “ObamaCare premiums and deductibles are way up — it was a lie and it is dead!”
Trump has said the current system is failing as
employers to buy private plans in federal or state marketplaces known as exchanges.
Kasich is navigating a tricky political path as he keeps open the possibility of a run for president in 2020. While he wants the Senate to spend more money on health care, one of the major planks in his super PAC is for the federal government to balance its budget.
Kasich said that under the House bill, Medicaid expansion is replaced in 2020 by a formula based on the number of people covered in 2016. But he pointed out that because many people move off Medicaid as they find steady work, they wouldn’t be allowed to return to Medicaid if their work situation changed.
“So what happens to those people?” Kasich asked. “Well, they‘re going to go over on the exchange. Now here’s the problem with the exchange. They give you ... a tax credit of $3,000 or $4,000 to buy health insurance. Now what do you think you can buy for $3,000 or $4,000? Do you know what the deductible would be in that?”
“For people who have these challenges — whether it’s drug addiction, mental illness or chronic disease — they’ve got to see the doctor on a regular basis,” Kasich said. “So how do we think that the mentally ill have the ability to pay the deductible on an insurance policy that they can buy for $3,000?”
He dismissed suggestions that the billions of dollars included in the bill would allow states to cover many of those people with pre-existing conditions by setting up a separate pool for high-risk Americans.
“There would be no reason to move to a high-risk pool because a high-risk pool is not funded,” Kasich said.