Fox News contributor Charles Krauthammer issued a warning Monday afternoon for the Trump administration and Republicans pushing Obamacare repeal.
If the Trump administration were to do away with the Obamacare “entitlement,” it would ultimately “destroy the presidency,” Krauthammer said Monday evening on Fox News Special Report. If Trump chooses to follow those conservatives calling for a complete gutting of the Obamacare entitlement expansions, the results “would be disastrous,” Krauthammer said.
The GOP platform to “repeal and replace” Obamacare finally made its reveal Monday evening, shortly after Krauthammer made his comments. Likely to Krathammer’s dismay, the repeal platform rolls back key entitlement programs included in Obamacare.
House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden put forth the House Republican plan Monday evening, called the American Health Care Act. The proposed legislation eliminates both the requirement that most Americans purchase health insurance and the penalties linked to the individual and employer mandate. It also repeals the Obamacare Medicaid expansion program by 2020.
Eliminating the Meidcaid expansion program was a major fear among Obamacare supporters. Medicaid provided health coverage for 97 million Americans in 2015. Some 31 states and the District of Columbia opted to expand their Medicaid program under Obamacare, adding around 17 million more people to the program since 2013. The program also covers over 60 percent of all nursing home residents and 40 percent of the costs of long-term care.
President Donald Trump praised the bill Tuesday morning on Twitter, saying: “Our wonderful new Healthcare Bill is now out for review and negotiation. ObamaCare is a complete and total disaster – is imploding fast!”
Trump and Congressional Republicans are making a big bet with this legislation, as both the president and the party campaigned on the promise of repealing Obamacare.
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