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 Marc Short, the White House's top liaison to Congress, said on CNN
that Obamacare's mandates and taxes would have to be rolled back and
consumers be allowed to more heavily invest in health-savings
accounts for Trump to sign off on any congressional deal.
"We're willing to work on this but we need to make sure that we're
getting something that will actually reduce healthcare costs," Short
said.
Republican Senator Lamar Alexander and Democratic Senator Patty
Murray unveiled legislation to shore up the insurance markets
created under the 2010 healthcare law by reviving the subsidies,
which Trump has discontinued, for two years to help lower-income
Americans obtain medical coverage.
The bill appeared to be gaining some momentum on Thursday after
several Republican senators said they would support the measure. But
Short's comments may put a damper on hopes for any sort of
bipartisan agreement. Democrats have consistently opposed efforts to
dismantle any and all parts of Obamacare.
Short said the administration was sending a list of the principles
it would like to see in any legislation to the bill's co-authors and
would likely make them public.
"The gist is we believe that the individual mandate should (be)
repealed, employer mandate repealed and allow Americans to
contribute to health savings accounts," he said.
Earlier on Thursday, Alexander and Murray said the deal they struck
now has the support of 12 of the 52 Republicans in the 100-seat
Senate, as well as 12 Democrats.
While Alexander predicted in remarks on the Senate floor that the
plan "will become law in some fashion before the end of the year,"
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has not committed to bringing
it to a vote, and House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan is
against it.
Lobbyists and congressional aides closely following the matter said
the legislation could make it onto the Senate floor tucked inside a
bigger "must-pass" bill that Congress needs to act on in December,
such as a broad spending measure to prevent a federal government
shutdown.
Trump campaigned for the presidency last year promising to get rid
of Obamacare, the signature legislative achievement of his
Democratic predecessor Barack Obama. But his fellow Republicans who
control Congress have failed to repeal and replace the law thanks to
deep intra-party divisions.
Obamacare, formally called the Affordable Care Act, extended health
insurance to 20 million people but Republicans call it government
interference in Americans' healthcare.
The law's individual mandate requires all Americans to purchase
health insurance, while its employer mandate requires businesses of
a certain size to offer affordable coverage.
TRUMP REVERSES POSITION
Trump initially indicated support for the Alexander-Murray agreement
but reversed himself, saying on Wednesday "I can never support
bailing out" insurers.
Senator Mike Rounds, one of the bill's Republican co-sponsors, said
that if Trump decides he does not support it, "then it will not go
forward." When a reporter noted that Trump does oppose it, Rounds
replied, "That was yesterday."
Gabelli Funds portfolio manager Jeff Jonas, who focuses on
healthcare, said there was too much political uncertainty for
investors to latch onto any one thing, with Trump "flip-flopping
every day" and Ryan not supportive of the bill.
Among hospital stocks, Community Health Systems <CYH.N> closed up
3.7 percent, Tenet Healthcare Corp <THC.N> rose 2.9 percent and HCA
Healthcare Inc <HCA.N> gained 3 percent. Most insurers rose more
modestly.
Without the subsidies, insurance premiums for some of the 10 million
Americans who get coverage through Obamacare markets will surge.
Noting that some conservative Republicans object to the subsidies,
Alexander asked, "What's conservative about creating chaos so
millions can't buy insurance, or at least failing to deal with the
chaos that has been created?"
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The bill has broad support among Democrats, but had just seven
Republicans on record supporting it only a day earlier.
Republican Senators Bill Cassidy and Lindsey Graham, who co-authored
a bill in September to repeal and replace Obamacare that failed to
muster enough support, endorsed the bipartisan effort.
"We believe we need a package which stabilizes the market in the
short term and lays the groundwork for a long-term solution" that
would overhaul Obamacare, they said in a joint statement.
If passed in December, as opposed to before the Nov. 1 beginning of
enrollment for 2018 Obamacare insurance policies, it would be
unlikely to affect premiums for next year, meaning its benefits
might not be felt until 2019. Insurers have already decided whether
to participate in the Obamacare markets and set higher rates to
build in the possibility that the subsidies would vanish.
Insurers say they do not profit from the subsidies, but pass them on
directly to consumers to reduce deductibles, co-payments and other
out-of-pocket medical expenses for low-income people.
The bill would also give more flexibility for states to offer a
wider variety of health insurance plans while maintaining the
requirement that sick and healthy people be charged the same rates
for coverage.
Many Senate Republicans are nervous about the prospect of voting on
any healthcare measure - no matter what legislation it may be
attached to - that buttresses Obamacare.
Part of the fear, one senior Senate Republican aide said, is that
Trump's former chief White House strategist Steve Bannon is
recruiting hard-line conservative primary challengers to run against
incumbent Republican senators next year. The aide said incumbents do
not want to be forced to cast a controversial vote to stabilize
Obamacare, a law reviled by many conservatives.
If all 46 Senate Democrats and two independents back the
Alexander-Murray bill as expected, the support of the 12 Republicans
means the bill has the 60 votes needed to reach the super-majority
required to pass most legislation in the Senate.
Trump on Thursday underscored his concerns about the bill. He urged
Alexander and Murray to be "careful with respect to the insurance
companies," which he said are "extremely talented at making money."
Alexander and Murray said their legislation does not bail out
insurers. Alexander said House Republicans passed an Obamacare
repeal and replace bill in May that also would continue subsidy
payments for two years.
Alexander said Trump has called him four times in recent days on
this subject, including a Saturday night call when he was at a
restaurant and "my dinner got cold." He urged the president to
support the initiative.
(Reporting by Richard Cowan and Yasmeen Abutaleb in Washington;
Additional reporting by Amanda Becker and Roberta Rampton in
Washington and Michael Erman in New York; Additional writing by
James Oliphant; Editing by Alistair Bell and James Dalgleish)
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