WASHINGTON (TNND) — President Donald Trump called on Senate Republicans to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, and redirect federal health care funds to individual Americans.
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,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Saturday.In other words, take from the BIG, BAD Insurance Companies, give it to the people, and terminate, per Dollar spent, the worst Healthcare anywhere in the World, ObamaCare,” he added, also urging them to put an end to the filibuster.
The post comes a day after Senate Republicans blasted a Democratic plan that would have extended ACA subsidies for one year as part of a government reopening agreement during the ongoing shutdown.
Sen. Lindsey Graham criticized the proposal, saying the ACA increased the cost of healthcare for hard working taxpayers while benefiting insurance companies.
You’re asking me and others to continue a program that is fundamentally broken, that’s inflationary,” he told Democrats on Friday. “And the only winner of Obamacare are the largest healthcare companies in America who are making excessive profits off a healthcare system you designed. And all you want is more people signed up on this program and you’re rewarding insurance companies for finding more people who are making a fortune and the delivery of healthcare is costing more and the quality is going down. We’re not going to do this. We’re not going to give into this.”
As Graham spoke, he stood next to a bar chart titled “Major Health Insurance Company Stock Performance After Obamacare.” He said it revealed that multiple companies — including UnitedHealth Group, Cigna, Molina, and others — saw massive increases in their stock prices since 2010, marking the same year Obamacare was enacted.
The chart, which Trump shared on Truth Social, attributes the gains to the period following the implementation of Obamacare. The implication is that major health insurers benefited significantly in the years following ACA reforms, which expanded insurance coverage and government contracts for managed care.
“Democrats are demanding we continue to throw money at a broken health care system that enriches insurance companies at the expense of American consumers,” Graham said. “We refuse to be held hostage.”
Sen. Katie Boyd Britt, who is a fellow Republican, shared similar sentiments.
Democrats created Obamacare, extended the subsidies TWICE, and set the expiration dates,” she wrote on X.Now they’re holding taxpayers hostage over their disastrous policies and, once again, FAILING to deliver for the American people,” she added.
The plan, which was offered by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, was a much narrowed version of a broad proposal Democrats laid out a month ago to make the health tax credits permanent and reverse Medicaid cuts that Republicans enacted earlier this year.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he thinks the offer is an indication that Democrats are “feeling the heat.”
“I guess you could characterize that as progress,” he said. “But I just don’t think it gets anywhere close to what we need to do here.”
The shutdown entered Day 39 on Saturday, with many federal workers going unpaid. Airlines have been forced to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been delayed for millions of Americans.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: The Associated Press contributed to this report.