With his department reeling over President Donald Trump’s proposed budget cuts and the international community worried, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson insisted Thursday he was happy to try to do more with less. Though the budget is unlikely to pass Congress in its current form, it underscores Trump’s isolationist rhetoric and “America First” promises, … Read more
US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Thursday announced his department is suspending contributions to government retirement and disability funds in order to keep the country’s debt under the mandated limit. Mnuchin said the new financing steps were required, and permitted by law, to avoid breaching the roughly $20 trillion debt ceiling set by Congress. “I … Read more
US Republican leaders grappled Wednesday with the possibility that their much-awaited Obamacare replacement bill goes down in flames, as rebels within the party demand sweeping changes before they get on board. Seven years after Barack Obama’s landmark health care reforms became law — a period when Republicans repeatedly tried and failed to yank Obamacare out … Read more
An estimated 14 million people would lose insurance coverage in 2018 under the new Republican healthcare plan, according to a budget analysis. The long-awaited Republican plan was assessed by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), a nonpartisan group of budget analysts and economists. The CBO said the added number uninsured would rise to 24 million by … Read more
About 14 million fewer Americans will have health insurance next year under the new Republican plan to replace the Obamacare reforms, Congress’s nonpartisan budget analysis office projected Monday. It also said that enacting the legislation currently before Congress — a measure backed by President Donald Trump — would reduce the federal deficit by some $337 … Read more
President Donald Trump, facing mounting concern that millions of Americans could lose their health insurance, met Monday with “victims of Obamacare” to highlight the Republican replacement for his Democratic predecessor’s plan. The White House has spent the past week grappling with maintaining party unity as conservatives and moderates alike bashed the new initiative, for likely … Read more
President Donald Trump is open to adapting a proposed replacement for Barack Obama’s health care law, his political allies said Sunday, insisting that the measure — which is facing serious Republican pushback — is merely a “framework.” Uprooting Obamacare — the Democratic president’s crowning domestic achievement — has been at the top of the agenda … Read more
Donald Trump has thrown his full weight behind a contested plan to repeal and replace Obamacare, battling to overcome resistance from the Republican Party’s right wing and meet a key campaign pledge 50 days into his presidency. With Democrats expected to unite against the new health care plan, Trump can ill afford defections from within … Read more
A leading trade group representing hospitals has expressed fears about the Republican health-care bill, saying poor Americans could lose insurance. The American Hospital Association (AHA) said current provisions for “our most vulnerable” would be thrown into doubt. President Donald Trump met lawmakers on Wednesday to rally them behind the bill, after a stormy 24 hours. … Read more
US President Donald Trump’s negotiating skills were put to the test in his first major legislative battle Wednesday as Congress debated a health care replacement plan that several members of his own party oppose. Two committees in the House of Representatives began reviewing a sweeping bill that unwinds and replaces the Affordable Care Act, the … Read more
US President Donald Trump faced mounting concern from fellow Republicans Tuesday over their party’s plan to replace Obamacare, with conservatives warning the bill was too similar to existing controversial health care law. Several far-right lawmakers said the Republican plan abandons conservative fiscal principles by maintaining government subsidies of the Affordable Care Act, but under the … Read more
US House Republicans have unveiled a long-awaited plan to replace the signature health care law of former US President Barack Obama. The proposed legislation would repeal penalties for those who do not buy health insurance. It would also replace income-based subsidies to help with the cost of premiums with age-based tax credits. Democrats immediately criticised … Read more
Republican leaders and the White House presented a united front Friday in their bid to ditch Obamacare, but the replacement plan — still incomplete, still hidden from public view — is meeting increasing pushback from rank-and-file conservatives. With Democrats of a single mind to keep the landmark health-care reforms in place, US President Donald Trump … Read more
The White House and Congress lacked agreement on a plan to repeal and replace Obamacare on Tuesday amid signs of growing Republican division on the issue, as President Donald Trump prepared to address lawmakers about his 2017 agenda. Republicans, who control the White House and Congress, are in agreement in their opposition to former Democratic … Read more
Anthem Inc. (ANTM. N) and other U.S. health insurers complained to the White House for more than a year that they were losing money on people who waited to sign up for Obamacare coverage until they were sick. They pleaded with the Obama administration to stem their losses by tightening up on the enrolment rules. … Read more
Republican Caitlyn Jenner took to Twitter Thursday evening with a message to President Donald Trump: “Call me.” The Olympian-turned-reality star, who is perhaps the most high-profile face of the transgender community, at first was quiet after the Trump administration withdrew Obama-era guidance on transgender bathroom use in public schools. But she broke her silence over … Read more
Donald Trump’s young presidency was plunged into deep crisis Tuesday as the forced departure of a key national security aide triggered calls for an independent inquiry into his administration’s contacts with Moscow. Barely three weeks after Trump stepped into the Oval Office, the resignation of National Security Advisor Mike Flynn over his dealings with Russia’s … Read more
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, preparing for his first meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House, will work with advisers on Tuesday to align Israeli and U. S. thinking on the Middle East and ensure “no gaps” remain. Staff have cleared most of Tuesday for discussions with Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Ron … Read more
President Donald Trump insisted early Saturday that he would bring the price of his planned Mexican border wall “way down,” after US media circulated a government report estimating it would cost $21.6 billion. In the internal government study, the US Department of Homeland Security said the contentious border barrier would take more than three years … Read more
President Donald Trump’s “wall” along the U. S.-Mexico border would be a series of fences and walls that would cost as much as $21.6 billion, and take more than three years to construct, based on a U.S. Department of Homeland Security internal report seen by Reuters on Thursday. The report’s estimated price-tag is much higher … Read more