Trump threatens to end health care 'bailouts' for insurers, lawmakers

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President Trump: Let ObamaCare implode, then deal

Kevin Corke has the White House's reaction to the failure

President Trump on Saturday threatened to end health care “bailouts” for insurers and lawmakers in Washington as he continues to push Congress to pass legislation repealing ObamaCare.

“If a new HealthCare Bill is not approved quickly, BAILOUTS for Insurance Companies and BAILOUTS for Members of Congress will end very soon!” Trump tweeted Saturday afternoon.

He also tweeted, “After seven years of ‘talking’ Repeal & Replace, the people of our great country are still being forced to live with imploding ObamaCare!”

Trump appears to be talking about cost-sharing subsidies for insurers. Mick Mulvaney, director of the Office of Management and Budget, recently told insurers such subsidies could end.

“We are looking at the cost-sharing payments on a month-to-month basis. We made them today. We'll make them tomorrow,” Mulvaney said, according to the Independent Journal Review. “But I don't think we'll see a long-term commitment from this administration.”

Some conservatives have also been pushing the White House to end subsidies to lawmakers and their employees made possible by an Office of Personnel Management exemption.

“It’s also troubling that the Trump administration used executive powers to bail out insurers but will not use his lawful executive power to end Obama’s order exempting members of Congress from paying the full Obamacare freight,” Daniel Horowitz recently wrote at ConservativeReview.com.

Senate Republicans have repeatedly tried, but failed, to pass legislation that eliminates or overhauls former President Barack Obama’s 2010 health care law.

TRUMP CALLS ON CHANGES FROM SENATE REPUBLICANS

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had hoped to pass a “skinny repeal” measure late Thursday. But when the vote finally took place early Friday morning, three Republicans -- John McCain of Arizona, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska -- joined with Democrats in opposition, killing the plan.