Get this: Trump was ready to unveil his concept of a healthcare plan as soon as Monday, November 24. It included a two-year extension of the ACA subsidies set to expire at the end of the year.
The GOP had kittens when they heard about it, and the White House pulled the plan.
Many GOP heard about the proposal on social media, and were flummoxed when only days earlier they heard Trump insisting that any ACA funding would be paid directly to Americans buying coverage.
“Not very Trumpian,” one former senior administration official said of the plan.
GOP moderates have supported the extensions, but hardline MAGAs want them to expire.
The proposal, which would require Congressional approval, would have extended the expiring subsidies in exchange for new eligibility requirements for enrollment, capping eligibility at 700% above the federal poverty line.
Trump’s plan also sought to appropriate funds to reduce out-of-pocket costs for ACA plans, and to allow enrollees who move down to a lower-premium health plan to place their tax credit in a tax-advantaged savings account.
It seems the dadgum representative from Tennessee was interested in discussing it in order to keep people from losing healthcare insurance.
A November poll from KFF found widespread bipartisan support for the ACA subsidies to continue.
Among Republican and Republican-leaning independents, 72 percent who didn’t identify with MAGA—and almost half of MAGA supporters—wanted ACA tax credits to continue.