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.
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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
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