trump prepares executive orders to begin obamacarerepeal on "day one" by zero hedge. with the senate already having launched theprocess of repealing obamacare when, as reported yesterday, senate budget committee chairmanmike enzi released a 2017 budget resolution setting up the process to partially repealobamacare early in donald trump�s administration, on wednesday vice president-elect mike pencemet with republican congressional leaders to plot the strategy of how to repeal obama'ssignature healthcare law. speaking to house republicans, pence saidtrump plans to take executive actions to start unwinding obamacare on day one: "our firstorder of business will be to repeal and replace
obamacare," pence told reporters, adding theprocess would begin "day one." "the speaker of the house used the word �stable,�and we will do that," pence said at a news conference after a private meeting wednesdaywith house republicans. there�s a "broad range of idea on how to do this," he said,without giving details of what a replacement might look like. the vp-elect added that �it will be an orderlytransition to something better...using executive authority to ensure it�s an orderly transition.we�re working now on a series of executive orders that will enable that orderly transitionto take place even as congress appropriately debates alternatives to and replacements forobamacare.�
rep. chris collins added that, "the presidentin his first day in office is going to do some level of executive orders related toobamacare," however he added that there were "no details whatsoever" on the orders discussedin the meeting. rep. mark amodei of nevada said pence had told republican lawmakers that"we are mindful of disrupting the markets." incoming white house press secretary seanspicer told reporters tuesday that trump considers inauguration day as "day one" of his presidency:"he is prepared and ready to go. as he's said before, he wants to enact real change on dayone. that will mean within hours of being sworn in," spicer said. "he put his team onnotice that he expects nothing less than everyone getting right to work for the american people."
pence's call for an "orderly" transition comesas healthcare experts warn that the republican strategy of repealing obamacare on a delaywithout an immediate replacement would cause chaos, leading to insurers dropping out ofthe market and people having few or no options for coverage. at the same time, in a series of posts ontwitter, trump urged fellow republicans to assign blame to obama's democrats: "republicansmust be careful in that the dems own the failed obamacare disaster, with its poor coverageand massive premium increases," trump tweeted. "don't let the schumer clowns out of thisweb." �massive increases of obamacare will takeplace this year and dems are to blame for
the mess,� he added. �it will fall ofits own weight -- be careful!� despite trump's eagerness to unwind obamacare,republicans will have obstacles to overcome. for one, they have not decided how long todelay the repeal of obamacare. options floated range from two years to four years. some senaterepublicans, meanwhile, are uneasy with the idea of repealing obamacare without a replacementimmediately available. roughly twenty million people stand to lose coverage if obamacareis repealed and no replacement materializes. as the hill notes, senator rand paul thisweek became the latest republican to call for simultaneous repeal and replace. and while republicans from pence on down areclearly eager to get rid of obamacare, there
is much more cautious enthusiasm among thegop about crafting a healthcare policy to replace it. lawmakers close to the pendingoverhaul described it as a lengthy and deliberative process, aimed to minimizing disruptions foramericans as the nation�s healthcare system changes. �we have to make sure there�s a very effectivetransition going forward,� said rep. kevin brady (r-texas), who chairs the house waysand means committee. �i�m hopeful that we can continue to lay out those pieces ona step-by-step basis through this year.� �the devil is always in the details. whatdoes repeal include, and what is the pace of replacement so that we can do it responsibly,�said rep. patrick meehan (r-pa.). �it�s
not going to be any kind of one-and-done process.it�ll be work that will go on for a period of time.� gop lawmakers emerging from the meeting withtrump�s inner circle said no details for a replacement were discussed. rep. walterjones equated the powwow to a �pep rally� aimed at boosting enthusiasm among republicansfor the job ahead. still, gop conservatives in the caucus areclearly eager to get moving on repeal, even as a replacement continues to remain unclear.�healthcare will be better and less expensive when obamacare is repealed,� said rep. jimjordan (r-ohio), head of the conservative freedom caucus. �i believe that.�
meanwhile, in a bid to salvage a major pieceof his political legacy, obama is meeting on wednesday with congressional democrats,including u.s. senate democratic leader chuck schumer, to discuss ways to counter republican-ledefforts to repeal the affordable care act. obama met with house and senate democratsat the capitol in the morning to talk about ways that democrats can keep in place at leastsome parts of the divisive health-care law, the signature legislative accomplishment ofdemocrats during mr. obama�s eight years in office. obama told democrats that he takesresponsibility for not having fully communicated the potential benefits of the health-carelaw, according to a democratic aide. �despite the negativity you have a big chunkof the country that wants this thing to succeed,�
the president said, according to the aide.�there are real lives at stake in this thing.� representative louise slaughter, a new yorkdemocrat, told reporters obama�s speech was "nostalgic" and that he spoke of the 20million people who rely on obamacare. he spoke of letters received from people who said theywould have died without it, she said. she scoffed at the gop�s repeal strategy, saying,"you wouldn�t think of tearing down a house before you have a new one." asked whethershe intends to work with republicans on a replacement, she said no. "we don�t even think of repealing the law.our job is to save the one we�ve got," slaughter said.
democratic representative tim ryan of ohiosaid the ball is in republicans� court on a replacement. "they�ve got to come up witha lot of answers if they repeal it," he said. obama might have some success in preservingat least parts of obamacare: trump has vowed to protect some popular parts of the obamacarelaw, such as barring insurance companies from denying coverage to people with pre-existingmedical conditions. but he wants to replace it with a system that is "much better andmuch less expensive," as he told reuters on oct. 25 after premium increases emerged insome healthcare markets. a house republican leadership aide said thereare lots of republican �ideas� but it was too early to know what will end up inreplacement legislation.
cited by reuters, the american medical associationdoctors' group urged caution in making changes to obamacare, which the organization supported."in considering opportunities to make coverage more affordable and accessible to all americans,it is essential that gains in the number of americans with health insurance coverage bemaintained," the ama said in a letter to congressional leaders. the ama said before any action is taken onobamacare policymakers should lay out for the american people "in reasonable detailwhat will replace current policies." that, however, does not appear realistic if,indeed, trump plans to issue an executive order in just 16 days beginning the processof undoing obamacare.
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