[{"innerBlocks":[],"name":"core\/freeform","postId":2870,"blockType":{"name":"core\/freeform","keywords":[],"attributes":{"content":{"type":"string","source":"raw"},"lock":{"type":"object"}},"providesContext":[],"usesContext":[],"selectors":[],"supports":{"className":false,"customClassName":false,"reusable":false},"styles":[],"variations":[],"apiVersion":3,"title":"Classic","description":"Use the classic WordPress editor.","category":"text"},"originalContent":"President Donald Trump is claiming he had to blow up Obamacare to fix the U.S.\u2019s healthcare problems.

\u201cRepublicans are meeting with Democrats because of what I did with the CSRs,\u201d Trump said on Monday at a Cabinet meeting, referring to subsidies to insurers, which the administration said on Thursday it was cutting off. \u201cIf I didn\u2019t cut the CSRs, they wouldn\u2019t be meeting, they\u2019d be having lunch and enjoying themselves, alright. They\u2019re right now having emergency meetings to have a short-term fix of healthcare.\u201d

The administration\u2019s explanation for Trump\u2019s move is that the payments are illegal because they weren\u2019t appropriated by Congress in the Affordable Care Act. That issue is the subject of a dispute now before the courts. But Trump\u2019s former top strategist, Steve Bannon, said on Saturday that Trump ended the payments to sabotage the health law.

Lawmakers led by Republican Senator Lamar Alexander and Democrat Patty Murray have been working across the aisle to try to stabilize the health law, chiefly to avoid big premium increases after Republican repeal attempts failed. Trump touted efforts by lawmakers to forge a deal on Monday.

\u201cWe\u2019ll have a short term fix with Republicans and Democrats getting together,\u201d Trump said.

But consumers will start to enroll in coverage for next year in two weeks, so the window for fixes for 2018 has likely closed. Insurers are increasing premiums in many states in part to offset the end of the payments, which compensate them for providing poor people with lower out-of-pocket costs.

Trump said he\u2019ll still push for a full repeal of Barack Obama\u2019s signature healthcare law using the budget process known as reconciliation. That would enable Republicans in the Senate to pass bills with 51 votes, rather than 60, though it limits the scope of their action. He said that would probably take place in March or April.

He said the plan would likely include \u201cblock granting the money back to the states\u2014which does seem to make sense, the states running it, because it\u2019s a smaller government that can be more individually sensitive.\u201d
","saveContent":"President Donald Trump is claiming he had to blow up Obamacare to fix the U.S.\u2019s healthcare problems.

\u201cRepublicans are meeting with Democrats because of what I did with the CSRs,\u201d Trump said on Monday at a Cabinet meeting, referring to subsidies to insurers, which the administration said on Thursday it was cutting off. \u201cIf I didn\u2019t cut the CSRs, they wouldn\u2019t be meeting, they\u2019d be having lunch and enjoying themselves, alright. They\u2019re right now having emergency meetings to have a short-term fix of healthcare.\u201d

The administration\u2019s explanation for Trump\u2019s move is that the payments are illegal because they weren\u2019t appropriated by Congress in the Affordable Care Act. That issue is the subject of a dispute now before the courts. But Trump\u2019s former top strategist, Steve Bannon, said on Saturday that Trump ended the payments to sabotage the health law.

Trump says he undermined Obamacare to force changes

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