House

Pelosi fears GOP plans on ‘sabotaging’ ObamaCare

by Mike Lillis - 03/30/17 2:03 PM ET

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Thursday accused President Trump and GOP leaders of going out of their way to undermine ObamaCare in an effort to validate the Republicans’ long-held view that the law is collapsing.

“They want it to be a self-fulfilling prophecy,” Pelosi said during a press briefing in the Capitol.

“We must resist repeal — there’s a strong sentiment for that in the country — and the second thing we must do is to stop their sabotaging of the Affordable Care Act.”

The Trump administration grabbed headlines earlier this year when officials halted outreach programs designed to guide patients through the Affordable Care Act’s open enrollment period — a move that caused Democrats and patient advocates to howl that Trump was discouraging participation just to score political points.

{mosads}Following last week’s stunning failure of the Republicans’ repeal-and-replace bill, Pelosi is citing at least two other steps the Republicans may take to further limit the law’s effectiveness: withholding federal subsidies to help lower-income people buy coverage, and ceasing enforcement of the insurance mandate by waiving the tax penalty for those who choose not to buy plans.

“You combine the two of them … premiums and other out-of-pocket costs can go up 35, 40 percent,” she said. “It’s so totally irresponsible.”

Pelosi, who was crucial to the passage of the ACA seven years ago, said the law is “by and large” meeting the Democrats’ goals of covering the uninsured and preventing healthcare costs from rising at previously sharp rates.

“Is it perfect? No,” she conceded. “There are some things we have to do to make sure that all markets are served” — particularly rural areas — “and also to make sure that the law is enforced.”

How the Republicans proceed in the wake of Friday’s decision to yank the bill from the House floor remains unclear. Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) had initially said the House would move on to other issues but reversed course on Tuesday after getting an earful from rank-and-file Republicans intent on sticking with the repeal effort — a promise the Republicans have made since the law was enacted in 2010.

More recently, Ryan threw cold water on the notion, floated by Trump this week, that the White House might reach across the aisle to work with Democrats on healthcare legislation.

“I don’t want that to happen,” Ryan said Thursday in an interview with “CBS This Morning.”

“You know why? I want a patient-centered system. I don’t want government running healthcare.”

The comments were not overlooked by the Democrats, who are accusing the Speaker of “playing partisan games,” in the words of Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), at the expense of people’s health.

Pelosi also poked Ryan for his “disastrous performance” managing the Republicans’ repeal legislation.

“They did themselves some very serious damage,” she said.

Tags Paul Ryan