Trump will repeal, replace Obamacare simultaneously

Republican-led Senate takes first step to repeal healthcare law

Vice President-elect Mike Pence is seen in the background as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a press conference in Trump Tower, Manhattan, New York on Wednesday.
Vice President-elect Mike Pence is seen in the background as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a press conference in Trump Tower, Manhattan, New York on Wednesday.
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PTI, New York :
In an effort to set at rest all speculation with regard to the signature health care programme of outgoing US President Barack Obama, President-elect Donald Trump today said that he would simultaneously repeal and replace ‘Obamacare’.
“It’ll be repeal and replace. It will be essentially, simultaneously. It will be various segments, you understand, but will most likely be on the same day or the same week, but probably, the same day, could be the same hour,” Trump said at his first press conference in six months.
One of his major campaign promises, Trump alleged that Obamacare is a complete and total disaster. He blamed the media for being guided by supporters of Obamacare.
“They can say what they want, they can guide you anyway they wanna guide you. In some cases, they guide you incorrectly. In most cases, you realise what’s happened, it’s imploding as we sit,” he said.
“We are gonna do repeal and replace, very complicated stuff. And we’re gonna get a health bill passed, we’re gonna get health care taken care of in this country. You have deductibles that are so high, that after people go broke paying their premiums which are going through the roof, the health care can’t even be used by them because their deductibles bills are so high,” he said. Asserting that Abdicate is the Democrats’ problem, he said his administration will take the problem off the shelves for them.
“We’re doing them a tremendous service by doing it. We could sit back and let them hang with it. We are doing the Democrats a great service,” he added.
“As soon as our Secretary is approved and gets into the office, we’ll be filing a plan. We’re going to have a health care that is far less expensive and far better,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Senate early Thursday passed a measure to take the first step forward on dismantling President Barack Obama’s health care law, responding to pressure to move quickly even as Republicans and President-elect Trump grapple with what to replace it with.
The nearly party-line 51-48 vote came on a nonbinding Republican-backed budget measure that eases the way for action on subsequent repeal legislation as soon as next month.
“We must act quickly to bring relief to the American people,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
The House is slated to vote on the measure on Friday, though some Republicans there have misgivings about setting the repeal effort in motion without a better idea of the replacement plan.
Trump oozed confidence at a news conference on Tuesday, promising his incoming administration would soon reveal a plan to both repeal so-called Obamacare and replace it with legislation to “get health care taken care of in this country.”
“We’re going to do repeal and replace, very complicated stuff,” Trump told reporters, adding that both elements would pass virtually at the same time. That promise, however, will be almost impossible to achieve in the complicated web of Congress, where GOP leaders must navigate complex Senate rules, united Democratic opposition and substantive policy disagreements among Republicans.

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