The Dems are exulting over this. They think there are not enough Senate R votes to do it piece-mail.
Donald Trump Backs Repeal, Replace of Obamacare All at Once, Senator Says
Rand Paul says the president-elect told him he agrees with his stance on Affordable Care Act
By KRISTINA PETERSON and SIOBHAN HUGHES
Updated Jan. 9, 2017 4:17 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON—President-elect Donald Trump backed waiting to repeal the Affordable Care Act until a replacement proposal is in hand in a Friday night phone call with Sen. Rand Paul, the Kentucky Republican said Monday, adding to momentum for changing GOP leaders’ strategy on dismantling the 2010 health-care law.
Mr. Paul is one of a growing group of Republican senators to express concerns with GOP leaders’ plans to vote to repeal the health law early this year, then to hammer out over weeks or months what would replace it after a two- to three-year transition.
“I believe we should vote on replacement the same day we vote on repeal,” Mr. Paul said in an interview Monday. Mr. Trump called the senator on Friday night “to say he agrees completely,” Mr. Paul said.
A Trump transition official confirmed that the incoming president spoke with Mr. Paul on Friday, and said meetings are under way to determine how a replacement law could be approved at the same time—or close to it—that a repeal of the law is approved. Last week, Mr. Trump warned congressional Republicans on Twitter to “be careful” about the political consequences of moving quickly to repeal the law.
The concerns from Mr. Paul and at least five other GOP senators could put pressure on Republican leaders to accelerate the process of crafting a unified GOP replacement plan. Republicans have proposed dozens of ideas over the years for overhauling the health-care system but have yet to coalesce around a plan.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who met with Mr. Trump in Trump Tower on Monday morning, appeared to indicate Sunday that Republicans were accelerating the process of settling on a replacement plan.
“We will be replacing it rapidly after repealing it,” the Kentucky Republican said Sunday on CBS. He wasn’t specific about the timing of the drafting of a new health-care system, or what it would entail, but he said, “There ought not to be a great gap between the first step and the second.”
On Monday, Mr. McConnell told reporters that he and Mr. Trump “had a good meeting about the Senate agenda, which of course includes confirming the cabinet appointments [and] getting further down the road toward repealing and replacing Obamacare.”
Mr. Trump has said before that he wanted to “simultaneously” repeal and replace the health-care law, but GOP leaders on Capitol Hill hadn’t committed to that timeline. Both repealing and replacing the health law would be complicated legislative maneuvers with sweeping repercussions for both the health-care industry and millions of American consumers.
Reince Priebus, Mr. Trump’s incoming chief of staff, said Sunday that a new health plan might not be ready immediately after gutting the Affordable Care Act.
“It may take time to get all the elements of the replacement in place,” Mr. Priebus said on CBS. “The full replacement may take more time than an instantaneous action.”
Republicans are planning to use a special process tied to the budget to pass legislation repealing the health law with a simple majority, but they can afford to lose few GOP votes. They would need all Republicans and several Democratic votes to then approve any replacement health-care system, in order to reach the 60 votes needed to clear the chamber’s procedural hurdles.
Mr. Paul, who has objected to the budget maneuver over its spending levels, said that he would like to see what would replace the health law weeks later, after House and Senate committees have detailed how the ACA would be repealed. The budget specifies that they must produce their legislation by Jan. 27.
“I don’t think that’s what the powers that be had intended—they had intended to do it over time, at some later date, but there’s a growing movement that is for immediate replacement,” Mr. Paul said.
If the Senate passes its budget by Thursday, the House is expected to vote on the measure later this week.
—Michael C. Bender contributed to this article. |
