Trump Says ACA May Not Be Replaced Until Next Year
Politico (2/5, Palmieri) reports that in an interview with Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly which aired before the Super Bowl, President Trump “walked back his recent vow that Obamacare would be replaced in short order,” saying that “the process is ‘complicated’ and ‘maybe it’ll take till sometime into next year.’” Trump said, “It statutorily takes a while to get. … We’re going to be putting it in fairly soon, I think that yes I would like to say by the end of the year at least the rudiments, but we should have something within the year and the following year.” Politico points out that Trump’s timetable was “notably more cautious” than in the past when he has said repealing and the replacing the ACA would happen “very quickly” and “will be essentially simultaneously.”
The Hill (2/5, Sullivan) reports that Trump said his Administration would submit an ACA replacement as soon as his HHS Secretary is confirmed. The article also highlights the “slower timetable,” and contrasts Trump’s comments in the Fox interview with his previous statements.
Republican Leaders Increasingly Discussing ACA Repair Instead Of Repeal. The AP (2/3, Fram, Alonso-Zaldivar) reported that increasingly, GOP lawmakers are discussing repairing the Affordable Care Act instead of repealing it. Republicans “insist they haven’t abandoned their goal of repeal, though they face lingering disputes about whether that should come before, after or simultaneously with a replacement effort.” Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) said, “‘It’s repairing the damage Obamacare has caused. It’s more accurate’ than repeal and replace.” He added, “We’re not repealing all of Obamacare.”
U.S. News & World Report (2/3, Leonard) said Republican leaders “have begun softening their tone on President Barack Obama’s health care law as they begin to wrestle with the details of overhauling the medical system while ensuring that millions of people aren’t left without access to health care.” But House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) insisted that “repair’ and ‘replace’ essentially amounted to the same thing.”
Source: ASCO Cancer in the News
