GOP/HEALTHCARE/OBAMACARE(ACA)/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A number of Senate Republicans are gathering behind a bipartisan push to shore up the Affordable Care Act, reflecting a growing divide between President Donald Trump and many GOP senators.
Republicans brushed off a call by Mr. Trump to continue working on a repeal of the 2010 health-care law after their bill to roll back and replace it failed by a single vote in the Senate in late July. Mr. Trump has called for letting the ACA implode on its own, and on Thursday the administration cut funding for ads and grants to encourage ACA sign-ups, a move that Democrats said would destabilize insurance markets.
Yet few congressional Republicans have signaled they are ready to let the health-care market deteriorate while their constituents are still battling higher premiums and fewer insurers to choose from on the individual marketplace…
But even if the health-committee leaders could find 60 votes to move their bill through the Senate, it isn’t clear whether it would receive backing in the House or from the White House. Mr. Trump has kept insurers in suspense over whether he will continue paying cost-sharing reductions to them. Thus far, he has continued the payments each month.
The White House didn’t respond to requests for comment.”
-Stephanie Armour and Kristina Peterson, “Senate Push on Bipartisan Health Proposal Signals Deeper Rift Between GOP, Trump,” The Wall Street Journal online, Sept. 1, 2017 10:33am