President Donald Trump on Tuesday backed a draft of US House of Representatives Republican bill to repeal and replace the Obamacare healthcare law and said it was open to negotiation.
Trump said he was working on a system to cut drug prices.
House Republicans had on Monday unveiled healthcare legislation that would eliminate the requirement that most Americans obtain medical insurance.
The bill would also help to create a system of tax credits to coax people to purchase private insurance on the open market.
House Democratic Leader, Nancy Pelosi, said the Republican measure would take millions of people off health insurance rolls and would benefit the wealthy.
The unveiling of the House Republican plan marked a key step toward carrying out pledges by Trump and Republicans in Congress to dismantle the Obamacare law.
Lawmakers have been facing pressure from constituents not to throw America’s healthcare system into chaos.
In a series of Twitter posts, Trump called the House Republican draft “our wonderful new Healthcare Bill” and said that it was “now out for review and negotiation”.
Trump, who has previously called for lower drug prices, said, “I am working on a new system where there will be competition in the Drug Industry”.
“Pricing for the American people will come way down,” he said without giving specific details and not yet clear when or how that addition would come.
His comment sent shares of drug makers lower.
The president also said there would be additional action to allow people to buy health insurance across state lines “in phase two and three of healthcare roll out”.
Shares of health insurers, whose industry is anxiously awaiting any changes, are mixed in early morning trading.
NAN.
Follow The Eagle Online Channel on WhatsApp
