Trump threatens to end ObamaCare payments unless repeal passes

[TomCADem]

Source: MSN/The Hill

President Trump on Saturday threatened to end key payments to insurance companies made under Obamacare if a repeal and replace bill is not passed.

"After seven years of 'talking' Repeal & Replace, the people of our great country are still being forced to live with imploding ObamaCare!" the president wrote in a tweet.

"If a new HealthCare Bill is not approved quickly, BAILOUTS for Insurance Companies and BAILOUTS for Members of Congress will end very soon!" he added.

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) fired back Saturday, saying Trump should "stop playing politics with people's lives and health care, start leading, and finally begin acting presidential." "If the president refuses to make the cost sharing reduction payments, every expert agrees that premiums will go up and health care will be more expensive for millions of Americans," Schumer said in a statement.

Read more: http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-threatens-to-end-obamacare-payments-unless-repeal-passes/ar-AAp1dLH?li=BBnb7Kz

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And, if this does not work, perhaps he can threaten to default on the debt.

[oberliner]

1. In response to Schumer's statement, Trump replied: "Duh, that's why I am doing it"

What Schumer describes is exactly what Trump wants to have happen.

[TomCADem]

2. For Trump, It's a Form of Viagra, Yet...

...he does have majority approval among certain demographic groups, so he must be doing something that they like.

[oberliner]

7. Something about immigration and regulation

I think that's what they seem to like - one or both categories.

Also, if one only watches Fox News, it seems like he is the best president ever.

[turbinetree]

3. What an orange hair imbecile............and it's getting quite tiring

Blah Blah, Blah................


He sounds like he's screeching and his tiny finger nails are being rubbed across a black board or screen

[SunSeeker]

4. What a scumbag. "Give me a win or the kid with cancer gets no medicine."

[Honeycombe8]

5. Ironic. He would cut ins. for that murdered girl he's been politicizing lately.

So how much does he REALLY care about that murdered girl? Enough to make sure she'd have health care, if she had lived?

He's desperate to get his hands on that money that's being used for health care for the disadvantaged. He needs it for tax cuts.

[benld74]

6. 7 effin years. That's the time GOP had

To come up with
1) something better
2) Fix ACA

They did neither

[jpak]

8. There would be insurrection

yup

[groundloop]

9. Sadly the only thing people would understand is that their health insurance got more expensive

This is, unfortunately, potentially a winning strategy for repukes. There are enough uninformed people in this country that would have not idea that 45* forced their premiums to go up drastically and they'd blame the ACA. I've no doubt this is the tact that hardline repukes will take.

[yallerdawg]

10. The way I understand it...

the ACA rules stay the same - we get government subsidized healthcare including the cost sharing subsidy discounts based on income.

The payments covering these discounts would stop going to the insurers if Trump stops paying them.

Insurers would raise their premiums 20% to cover the Trump losses. Some insurers would leave the market, and we would have more uninsured Americans.

All in all, though, the subsidized increase paid by the government to the insurers would go up. Trump's "plan" to stop Cost Sharing would cost even more than paying it!

Although a number of our fellow American citizens would lose affordable healthcare because of the ongoing uncertainty insurers won't risk!

[groundloop]

12. " ...would cost even more than paying it!"

Yes it would cost taxpayers more, but 45* doesn't give a shit about any of that. He's driven by a deep hatred of President Obama and anything associated with him.

[Wellstone ruled]

26. With the Health Care and Insurance Industry being the single

largest contributor to the GOP. This issue will be resolved by November. Cigna and Anthem as well as Humana are looking for Mergers and if one thinks they are going to take a hit,forget about it.

[Mountain Mule]

11. Can Twitler just do that?

All on his own sign an executive order and too bad on the payments? Wouldn't that be illegal?

[yallerdawg]

13. Obama couldn't get the legislation to fund the CSR's out of Republicans.

So, the executive branch voluntarily paid it.

A federal judge sided with the Republicans who claimed the money should come out of legislative budget funding - but let it stay in place until Congress resolved the issue.

With 'repeal and replace,' Congress never took it up one way or the other.

Yes, Trump can "kill" the payments - and that will be on his head alone now.

[Mountain Mule]

14. Oh well, then. Twitler will kill the payments from August until...

Not a doubt about it. I guess we can expect the higher premiums and dropped coverage to get worse by the month now. Lovely.

[yallerdawg]

15. I believe this will be a bipartisan fix if Trump does this.

It's one thing to have a 'replacement' - it's another to just hurt people out of spite and nastiness.

I think a number of Republicans in both houses of Congress have had about enough of this.

[Mountain Mule]

16. We can only hope, yallerdawg

I don't think Paul Ryan will ever get his fill of spite and nastiness. No doubt he is telling Trump to go for it even as we speak (or type on our keyboards).

[yallerdawg]

17. I'm an optimistic pessimist.

I have learned to hope for the best, but expect the worst.

If I were Ryan, I'd be asking Trump why he couldn't deliver just one freakin' vote!

The House did their "job." For probably around the 70th time?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

19. If Trump (Republicon) tries that, constituents may get angry enough to force Congress to fund it ...

... by veto-proof majorities.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

20. If tRump tries & Congress does not fund, it could be THE ISSUE of 2018 elections. . . . . nt

[not fooled]

21. Only if

enough 'Muricans understand the connection between dump's vindictive actions and the increase in premiums. Which would require the snooze media doing their job of explaining the cause and effect. I'm not counting on them. Traditionally they obfuscate and provide cover when pukes make policy changes that hurt the peasantry. They've been getting away with it since raygun and keep winning elections, because the mediaduh either covers for them or outright lies (i.e. faux) and in general act like shills for the wealthy.

[MBS]

31. uggh.

Now I remember this little chapter. . . but, still, ugh.
If he does this, we've got to make it very, very clear to voters that this is his fault. And also the Republicans, since they blocked that funding in the first place.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

18. Trump (Republicon) Threatens Sabotage of Affordable Care Act. . . . nt

[question everything]

22. Also threaten the cushy benefits of members of congress

In January, Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-Fl.) introduced a bill that would end an exemption enabling members of Congress and Capitol Hill staff to obtain employer contributions from the government to pay for plans on D.C.’s small-business exchange, which the federal Office of Personnel Management in 2013 issued guidance to allow.

“By blowing the whistle on this special deal concocted by OPM, we will make members of Congress better understand the burdens of ObamaCare, thereby incentivizing members to get to work on a good repeal and replace plan,” DeSantis wrote then in a statement.

Heather Higgins, CEO of the conservative-leaning advocacy group Independent Women’s Voice, wrote last week in a Wall Street Journal op-ed: “Congress is essentially unaffected by the high costs of the ObamaCare exchanges because of a special exemption crafted under the Obama administration.” Some subsidies obtained via D.C.’s small-business exchange, the op-ed claimed, were worth as much as $12,000 annually.

While Trump’s meaning was not entirely clear, it is possible he could direct OPM to rescind the ruling enabling the exemption, as a coalition of right-wing groups encouraged him to do in a July 21 letter.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-threatens-insurer-payments-health-183810351.html

====

Will this, then, convince them to start article of impeachment? The man is clearly deranged.

[flibbitygiblets]

24. K&R

[Sunlei]

23. start with the trump families free govenment insurance.

[dalton99a]

25. Just do it, asshole

[bagelsforbreakfast]

27. Yes, that will send his popularity soaring! n/m

[adigal]

28. Insurance companies, doctors, hospitals, are ALL going to scream

Trump is doing what Dems couldnt do: destroy the Republican party for decades.

[Red Mountain]

29. He has no leverage

Democrats will make him own not paying the subsidies whether he likes it or not. Our hands are tied....in a good way.

Gut Obamacare and the subsidies go away anyway.

[Yavin4]

30. "perhaps he can threaten to default on the debt."

Trump? Default on debt? Come on. When has that ever happened?

[onetexan]

32. Let the idiot do it and see if he doesn't get hit with lawsuits