Trump tries to rally support for
healthcare bill
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[March 22, 2017]
By Susan Cornwell and Yasmeen Abutaleb
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald
Trump tried to rally Republican lawmakers behind a plan to dismantle
Obamacare on Tuesday as U.S. stock markets showed their worst one-day
performance since the November election.
Trump is trying to win the first major legislative battle of his
presidency. Pressure is growing on the businessman-turned politician to
deliver as investors become worried that a failed healthcare push could
also portend trouble for promised tax cuts and relaxed regulation that
have propelled the market to record highs in recent months.
In one of the few visits he has made to the U.S. Capitol since taking
office two months ago, Trump told fellow Republicans in the House of
Representatives on Tuesday morning they would face "political problems"
for opposing the bill that takes apart Obamacare and partially replaces
it. Later in the day, Trump hosted roughly a dozen lawmakers in the Oval
Office to listen to their concerns.
"The president was really clear: He laid it on the line for everybody,"
House Speaker Paul Ryan, the leading proponent of the bill, told
reporters. "We made a promise. Now is our time to keep that promise. ...
If we don't keep our promise, it will be very hard to manage this."
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The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average lost over 1 percent in
their worst one-day performances since before Trump's election victory
on Nov. 8. The S&P financial index sank 2.87 percent, its biggest daily
fall since June.
“You have this back and forth in Congress with the new healthcare plan
and you have this belief that if the healthcare plan can’t pass, then
they can’t move on to taxes. There’s this feeling that if things don’t
get done, then maybe what the market has been anticipating gets held
up," said Mark Kepner, managing director at Themis Trading in Chatham,
New Jersey.
Some conservative lawmakers believe the healthcare bill does not go far
enough, while moderate Republicans worry that millions of Americans will
be hurt by the dismantling of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, Democratic
former President Barack Obama's signature healthcare legislation. (For a
graphic on how U.S. healthcare stacks up under the ACA and AHCA click
http://tmsnrt.rs/2n0ZMKf)
Party leaders hope to move the bill to the House floor for debate as
early as Thursday. But the administration and House leadership can
afford to lose only about 20 Republican votes or risk the bill failing
since Democrats are united against it.
Republican Representative Mark Meadows, chairman of the conservative
House Freedom Caucus, said the roughly three dozen members have decided
not to vote as a bloc. As many as 21 currently plan to vote no on the
legislation, according to a CNN report.
Republican Representative Walter Jones said Trump told lawmakers in the
closed-door meeting at the Capitol that if the Republican bill does not
pass, they would face "political problems." Jones said he thought Trump
meant lawmakers could lose their seats.
ELECTORAL RISKS
Repealing and replacing Obamacare was one of Trump's main campaign
promises and has been a goal of Republicans since it was enacted.
While Trump predicted that Republicans could face challenges in primary
contests ahead of the 2018 midterm elections if they do not gut
Obamacare, there is also danger to them in doing so. If the Republican
bill is passed, millions of voters might lose their healthcare coverage.
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![](../images/032217pics/news_B5.jpg)
President Donald Trump
(C) and Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price (L) enter the
U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., March 21, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin
Lamarque
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The Congressional Budget Office said last week that 14 million people
would forfeit coverage under the House bill over the next year, although
that number could change based on the most current version of the
legislation.
Nancy Nielsen, associate dean for health policy at the University at
Buffalo's Jacobs School of Medicine, said Republican leaders were in a
tough spot.
"It is a not-so-delicate balancing act, as they have to win over the
most conservative House and Senate members without causing an outrageous
backlash from voters now or in the next election," Nielsen said.
Democrats oppose the Republicans' plan, saying it would hurt the
elderly, poor and working families while giving tax cuts to the wealthy.
Republican leaders tweaked the bill this week to try to satisfy critics,
mainly from their own party.
Republican chairmen for two key committees said late Monday they
proposed more funding for tax credits, which conservatives have opposed,
that would give the Senate flexibility to help older people afford
health insurance. Additionally, Obamacare's taxes would be eliminated in
2017 instead of 2018.
The amendments also addressed Medicaid, which is the country's largest
health insurance program and covers about 70 million people, mostly the
poor. The changes would allow states to implement work requirements for
certain adults, an idea championed by many conservatives, and to decide
how they receive federal funds.
Congressman Dan Donovan, who attended the Oval Office meeting on
Tuesday, said Trump did "more listening than directing." There was some
"political talk" but "no threats," he said.
Donovan, who has not announced whether he will support the bill, cited
people losing Medicaid and the defunding of women's healthcare provider
Planned Parenthood as concerns in his New York district.
The Club for Growth, an influential conservative lobby group, said it
would spend at least $500,000 for ads on television and digital
platforms urging Congress members to defeat the bill.
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The Senate also will vote on the legislation, and more changes could be
made. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that if the House
approved a healthcare bill, he would try to bring it to the Senate floor
next week.
(Additional reporting by Emily Stephenson, Jeff Mason, Doina Chiacu,
Susan Heavey, Richard Cowan and David Morgan; Writing by Alistair Bell
and Amanda Becker; Editing by Frances Kerry, Jonathan Oatis and Lisa
Shumaker)
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