Donald Trump threatens to end Obamacare insurance ‘bailouts'

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump threatened to end key Affordable Care Act subsidies to health insurance companies that help make insurance accessible to poorer Americans, a move that may critically destabilise health exchanges if it went ahead. The administration has previously floated the idea to halt subsidies that help insurers offset healthcare costs for low-income Americans, called a costsharing reduction, or CSR.

In a tweet on Saturday, Trump hinted at ending that programme. “If a new HealthCare Bill is not approved quickly, BAILOUTS for Insurance Companies and BAIL OUTS for Members of Congress will end very soon!” the president said in a tweet on Saturday.

It was unclear if Trump’s message means he also plans to directly target subsidies that are available to health insurance policies for some Congressional staff members. Thousands of members of Congress and staff are enrolled in plans on the Washington, DC, insurance exchange. The White House declined to comment further on Trump’s tweet. A months-long effort by Senate Republicans to pass health-care legislation collapsed early Friday after Republican John McCain of Arizona joined two of his colleagues to block a stripped-down Obamacare repeal bill.

McCain’s “no” vote came after weeks of brinkmanship and after his dramatic return from cancer treatment to cast the 50th vote to start debate on the bill earlier in the week. The “skinny” repeal bill was defeated 49-51, falling just short of the 50 votes needed to advance it. Republicans Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska also voted against it. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he’ll move on to other legislative business. But in a later tweet on Saturday, Trump suggested he isn’t giving up. “Unless the Republican Senators are total quitters, Repeal & Replace is not dead! Demand another vote before voting on any other bill!”

The president said earlier that Senate Republicans “look like fools” after the repeal bill went down, and made a renewed call for the Senate to abolish a rule requiring 60 votes for some bills — although the healthcare measure needed only a 51-vote majority to pass, and fell short. Republican Senators Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Dean Heller of Nevada met with Trump on Friday on a rejiggered proposal. Graham said in a statement that Trump had been “optimistic” about the trio’s plan. Ending the CSR subsidies, paid monthly to insurers, is one way that Trump could hasten Obamacare’s demise without legislation, by prompting more companies to raise premiums in the individual market or stop offering coverage. The administration last made a payment about a week ago for the previous 30 days, but hasn’t made a long-term commitment.