US President Donald Trump has escalated his attack on the Affordable Care Act (ACA), urging Republicans to divert federal healthcare payments directly to Americans instead of insurance companies, as the ongoing government shutdown marks its longest stretch in US history.
In a new post on Sunday, Trump repeated his demand that Republicans stop sending what he described as vast sums of money to insurers participating in the ACA marketplace.
“NO MORE MONEY, HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS, TO THE DEMOCRAT SUPPORTED INSURANCE COMPANIES FOR REALLY BAD OBAMACARE. THE MONEY MUST NOW GO DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE, TAKING THE ‘FAT CAT’ INSURANCE COMPANIES OUT OF THE CORRUPT SYSTEM OF HEALTHCARE," he said on Truth Social.
The US President further asserted that the people can buy much better policy on their own, “FOR MUCH LESS MONEY, SAVING, FOR THEMSELVES, AN ABSOLUTE FORTUNE!!!”
Trump’s remarks follow a similar proposal he posted earlier, in which he pressed Republicans to send ACA-related federal subsidies straight to Americans. He framed the idea as part of a compromise to break the political deadlock over government funding.
“I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars currently being sent to money sucking Insurance Companies in order to save the bad Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE, and have money left over,” he wrote on Truth Social.
The shutdown began on October 1 and continues without a resolution, after Senate Republicans rejected a proposal from Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. According to CNBC, Democrats offered to reopen the government by allowing ACA subsidies to remain in place for one year, while dropping their demand to extend Obamacare tax credits for a longer period.
Those subsidies support more than 20 million people, and without action by Congress, they will expire at the end of December. Democrats say that figure could reach 24 million when counting Americans who are expected to renew coverage.
Republicans have dismissed the Democratic plan, insisting that the government must be reopened before negotiations resume on other policy matters. Senate Majority Leader John Thune labelled the Democrats’ offer a “non-starter.”
Beyond the funding fight, Trump is also intensifying pressure on Republicans to eliminate the Senate filibuster, the rule requiring 60 votes to pass most legislation. The GOP currently holds 53 seats in the 100-member chamber, with 45 Democrats and two independents aligned with them, CNBC reported.
With neither side offering new concessions, the shutdown continues with millions of Americans caught in the middle.
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