01 July, 2017
Not only would the millions who rely on the Affordable Care Act for coverage be at risk, insurance companies would no longer be restricted by numerous consumer-focused regulations in place because of the law-such as covering essential health benefits and not putting lifetime limits on coverage-which Republicans would then need to try and reign in again whenever they proposed a new healthcare bill.
Sasse then said the Senate should "cancel the scheduled August state work period and instead to spend that month working through regular order, six days per week, writing a health reform package with a vote to be scheduled on Labor Day".
In his letter to the president, Mr. Sasse said that if a deal on a revised health care bill had not been struck by the time the Senate returns from its Fourth of July recess on July 10, Mr. Trump should call on Congress to "immediately repeal as much of Obamacare as is possible" under the rules that must be followed to avoid a filibuster, with a one-year delay on the repeal bill's implementation.
"This two-step plan to keep our two promises - both repealing Obamacare and replacing it with a system that provides affordable and portable health insurance - seems like a no-brainer to this gym rat", he wrote.
Trump's declaration came shortly after Sen. "We should include a year-long implementation delay to give comfort to Americans now on ObamaCare that a replacement plan will be enacted before expiration". "Sounds great, Pres. @realDonaldTrump", Sasse wrote in a response on Twitter.
"We are agreed. We need to break the logjam". Once the two sides became confident that Trump was interested, they drafted Sasse's letter and arranged for him to appear on Fox News Friday morning to call for such a plan. However, a simple repeal is unlikely to draw the support of Republican moderates who are needed to help pass a bill in the Senate.
The senator, speaking on condition of anonymity, was referring to the spat between Trump and MSNBC "Morning Joe" co-host Mika Brzezinski.
But many Republicans opposed that idea, and along with Trump calling for passing both simultaneously, the party shifted tactics. But the partial repeal of Obamacare is tied up in the Senate, where Republicans are at odds over the Better Care Reconciliation Act.
Stay with Omaha.com for more on this developing story. Trump has caused confusion about whether he'll continue key components of the law. The revenue could be used to increase insurance subsidies for lower-income people.
Besides, a clean repeal of the Affordable Care Act with no replacement could have even more trouble clearing the Senate than the current effort. Perhaps the worst sign for Republicans on health care is that they are now clearly going in circles.
While other Republican senators have grabbed more of the public spotlight during the health care debate thus far, Sasse has said he has been talking frequently with Vice President Mike Pence behind the scenes. And we'll know. And it'll be great healthcare for much less money.
Trump declined to say what the surprise would be, but his optimism contrasted significantly with the nine Republican senators publicly expressing their opposition to the bill the President is championing.
Republican discussions on Thursday were focused on two proposals.
