President Donald Trump has denied reports that he pushed for a two-year extension on healthcare subsidies, branding Obamacare a “disaster.”
Congress is running out of time before the Covid-era Affordable Care Act subsidies expire at the end of the year. Democrats had tried to use their support of a federal funding bill as a bargaining chip to extend the subsidies, but after what became the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, they failed to deliver on that demand.
Now, Republicans are scrambling to come up with their own affordable healthcare policy. There were reports that Trump had proposed to extend the ACA subsidies for two years after railing against Obamacare for years. Politico reported on Monday that Trump was going to unveil this new policy before Republicans resisted it.
But when asked whether he was planning to extend the ACA subsidies, Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Tuesday night, “I’d rather not. Somebody said I want to extend them for two years. I don’t want to extend them for two years. I’d rather not extend them at all.”
The president then admitted, “Some kind of extension may be necessary to get something else done because the Unaffordable Care Act has been a disaster.”
“The premiums are going up, and it’s the Democrats’ fault. But they are negotiating with me. It’s very interesting,” Trump added.
While you can argue who is to blame for the issue, Trump is right that health insurance premiums will go up next year if healthcare legislation is not passed. KFF, a health policy research organization, said in late September that premiums would more than double on average next year if the ACA subsidies expire.
More than 24 million people are enrolled in the ACA Marketplace, and the vast majority of them receive these subsidies, according to KFF.
Trump, who tried and failed to partially repeal Obamacare during his first term, reiterated his concept for a new healthcare policy to reporters Tuesday night.
“I like my plan the best. Don’t give any money to the insurance companies. Give it to the people directly. Let them go out and buy their own healthcare plan, and we’re looking at that,” the president said.
The discussion around healthcare is sure to pick up speed after the Thanksgiving holiday. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, had promised to bring legislation to extend the ACA subsidies to a vote by mid-December.
