President Trump touched off a political melee Friday after his administration announced it would “immediately” halt payments to insurers under ObamaCare, with Democrats claiming the move will “break” insurance markets – and the president saying Democrats should come to the negotiating table to “fix” the law if they’re so concerned.
“The Democrats ObamaCare is imploding. Massive subsidy payments to their pet insurance companies has stopped. Dems should call me to fix!” he said in a pre-dawn tweet on Friday.
The Democrats ObamaCare is imploding. Massive subsidy payments to their pet insurance companies has stopped. Dems should call me to fix!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 13, 2017
He added, “ObamaCare is a broken mess. Piece by piece we will now begin the process of giving America the great HealthCare it deserves!”
The Justice Department took swift action, notifying a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., in connection with a related lawsuit that an upcoming Oct. 18 payment “will not occur.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi – the top two congressional Democrats – blasted the move, in the latest indication that their political dalliance with the president on immigration and budget issues is over for now.
“Sadly, instead of working to lower health costs for Americans, it seems President Trump will singlehandedly hike Americans’ health premiums,” they said in a written statement. “It is a spiteful act of vast, pointless sabotage leveled at working families and the middle class in every corner of America. Make no mistake about it, Trump will try to blame the Affordable Care Act, but…
