Trump signals approval of bipartisan health-care bill

President Trump expressed his approval of the bipartisan heath-care bill named after its authors, Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.), on Tuesday, people who were at the president's meeting with Republican senators told Bloomberg. "I support the Alexander-Murray bill," Trump reportedly confirmed, as relayed by Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.). Trump reportedly sees the legislation as "a transition away from ObamaCare."

Along with House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), Trump initially did not support the legislation in October. The bill guarantees two years of cost-sharing subsidies that insurance companies use to lower out-of-pocket costs for lower-income customers, plus eases some coverage requirements on states. In an end-of-the-year omnibus package it "would be less painful than voting on a stand-alone bill that conservatives view as a 'bailout' for insurance companies — and a vote to 'prop up' a law they've tried to dismantle for years," Politico notes.

The Hill's Peter Sullivan tweeted that Trump also supports bipartisan legislation written by Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), which "would help small businesses offer retirement plans to their employees and encourage individuals to save more for retirement," a statement on Collins' website explains.

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"Alexander says he thinks both bills would be in year-end spending bill," Sullivan added.