Trump: Obamacare is 'imploding' (and media is ignoring it)
WASHINGTON — President Trump said Monday that the Republican health care plan will rescue people from an "imploding" Obamacare system, and he protested news coverage of the high-stakes debate that will affect millions of people and their health insurance.
"The fact is, Obamacare is a disaster," Trump said during a meeting with people who say they have seen prices rise or coverage reduced under the Affordable Care Act.
"The press is making Obamacare look so good all of a sudden," Trump said, while ignoring evidence that insurers will continue to drop out and costs will continue to go up in 2017, 2018 and 2019, though he added that the current plan "will be gone by then."
A new plan pending in the Republican House will lower insurance prices through "more competition and less regulation," Trump said, though some conservatives say it still includes too much government regulation and doesn't go far enough in repealing Obamacare.
During a later meeting with his Cabinet, Trump dismissed reports of Republican infighting by saying they are all engaged in "a big, fat, beautiful negotiation."
Even if the House approves a new health care plan, it must still get through a Senate in which members have questioned Trump's health care strategy.
Mocking the proposal to phase in the new plan, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., told radio talk-show host Laura Ingraham that "this so-called three-phase process, that’s just not going to happen."
Trump, who criticized the media repeatedly during his remarks, acknowledged that it will be "a while" before any new Republican plan takes effect, and "once it does, it's going to be a thing of beauty."
The latest White House "listening session" on the health care issue came as the Congressional Budget Office is poised to estimate the costs of the GOP plan.
Before the meeting, Trump again sought to make his case via social media.
"ObamaCare is imploding," he said on Twitter. "It is a disaster and 2017 will be the worst year yet, by far! Republicans will come together and save the day."
Democrats said the Affordable Care Act needs to be improved rather than repealed, and the efforts by Trump and the Republicans will lead to millions losing their health insurance.
"If the Trump administration continues sabotaging the law, then they'll be responsible for the damage they cause to families," said Democratic strategist Jesse Ferguson. "He can't make us responsible for his bad decisions. If he breaks it, he owns it."
At the White House, Trump told his guests that the best political play for Republicans would be to let the law collapse and have voters blame the Democrats.
"But that’s the wrong thing to do for the country," Trump said. "It’s the wrong thing to do for our citizens.”
Read more:
The first 100 days of the Trump presidency
White House casts doubt on upcoming Obamacare repeal cost estimate
Hospitals fear Obamacare repeal may create financial strain
