President Donald Trump turned up the heat on Friday on fellow Republicans in the US Senate to pass a bill dismantling the Obamacare law, but with their retooled&nbsp;healthcare&nbsp;plan drawing fire within the party even one more defection would doom it.

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has planned for a vote next week on revised legislation, unveiled on Thursday, and he has his work cut out for him in the coming days to get the 50 &quot;yes&quot; votes needed for passage. Republicans control the Senate by a 52-48 margin and cannot afford to lose more than two from within their ranks because of united Democratic opposition, but two Republican senators already have declared opposition.

&quot;After all of these years of suffering thru Obamacare, Republican Senators must come through as they have promised,&quot; Trump, who made gutting Obamacare one of his central campaign promises last year, wrote on Twitter from Paris, where he attended Bastille Day celebrations.

The top US doctors&#39; group, the American Medical Association, on Friday called the new bill inadequate and said more bipartisan collaboration is needed in the months ahead to improve the delivery and financing of&nbsp;healthcare. Hospital and medical advocacy groups also have criticised&nbsp;the bill.

&quot;The revised bill does not address the key concerns of physicians and patients regarding proposed Medicaid cuts and inadequate subsidies that will result in millions of Americans losing health insurance coverage,&quot; AMA president Dr David Barbe said, referring to the government insurance program for the poor and disabled.

A major test for McConnell&#39;s legislation expected early next week is an analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, which last month forecast that the prior version of the bill would have resulted in 22 million Americans losing insurance over the next decade.

A day after that CBO analysis was issued, McConnell postponed a planned vote on the legislation because of a revolt within his own party, including moderates and hard-line conservatives.

While the bill&#39;s prospects may look precarious, the same could have been said of&nbsp;health care legislation that ultimately was passed by the House of Representatives. Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan called off a vote in March in the face of a rebellion involving the disparate factions of the party but managed to coax enough lawmakers to back it and engineered narrow approval on May 4.

Pence seeks support

Vice president Mike Pence sought to shore up support among the nation&#39;s governors at a meeting in Rhode Island, but a key Republican governor, Ohio&#39;s John Kasich, came out strongly against the revised bill, saying its Medicaid cuts were too deep and it does too little to stabilise the insurance market.

Kasich&#39;s opposition could put pressure on Rob Portman, a Republican senator from Ohio, who has not yet taken a position on the bill.

If the current Senate legislation collapses, some lawmakers have raised the possibility of seeking bipartisan legislation to fix parts of Obamacare but leaving intact the structure of the Affordable Care Act, Democratic former President Barack Obama&#39;s signature legislative achievement, commonly known as Obamacare.

&quot;There are changes that need to be made to the law,&quot; Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Senate Democrat, told MSNBC, citing &quot;a bipartisan appetite to tackle this issue.&quot;

Moderate Susan Collins and conservative Rand Paul already oppose the revised Senate bill. Other Republican senators have either expressed concern or remained noncommittal, including Portman, Mike Lee, Shelley Moore Capito, John McCain, Dean Heller, John Hoeven, Lisa Murkowski, Jeff Flake, Ben Sasse, Cory Gardner, Todd Young and Thom Tillis. Republican Senators Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy floated an alternative plan.

The new version was crafted to satisfy the Republican Party&#39;s various elements, including moderates worried about Americans who would be left without medical coverage and hard-line conservatives who demand less government regulation of health insurance.

A provision championed by Republican Senator Ted Cruz and aimed at attracting conservatives would let insurers sell cheap, bare-bones insurance policies that would not have to cover broad benefits mandated under Obamacare.

But two major health insurance groups, America&#39;s Health Insurance Plans and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, called on McConnell to drop the Cruz proposal, saying it would undermine protections for pre-existing medical conditions, raise insurance premiums and destabilise the individual insurance market.

The bill retained certain Obamacare taxes on the wealthy that the earlier version would have eliminated, a step moderates could embrace. But it kept the core of the earlier bill, including ending the expansion of Medicaid that was instrumental in enabling Obamacare to expand coverage to 20 million people, and restructuring that social safety-net program.

John Thune, a member of the Senate Republican leadership, said in order to complete work on the bill by the end of next week, Senate leaders would have to try to formally begin debate on Tuesday or Wednesday, a move that requires a majority vote.

Vice president Mike Pence sought to shore up support among the nation's governors at a meeting in Rhode Island, but a key Republican governor, Ohio's John Kasich, came out strongly against the revised bill, saying its Medicaid cuts were too deep and it does too little to stabilise the insurance market

President Donald Trump turned up the heat on Friday on fellow Republicans in the US Senate to pass a bill dismantling the Obamacare law, but with their retooled healthcare plan drawing fire within the party even one more defection would doom it. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has planned for a vote next week on revised legislation, unveiled on Thursday, and he has his work cut out for him in the coming days to get the 50 "yes" votes needed for passage. Republicans control the Senate by a 52-48 margin and cannot afford to lose more than two from within their ranks because of united Democratic opposition, but two Republican senators already have declared opposition. "After all of these years of suffering thru Obamacare, Republican Senators must come through as they have promised," Trump, who made gutting Obamacare one of his central campaign promises last year, wrote on Twitter from Paris, where he attended Bastille Day celebrations. The top US doctors' group, the American Medical Association, on Friday called the new bill inadequate and said more bipartisan collaboration is needed in the months ahead to improve the delivery and financing of healthcare. Hospital and medical advocacy groups also have criticised the bill. "The revised bill does not address the key concerns of physicians and patients regarding proposed Medicaid cuts and inadequate subsidies that will result in millions of Americans losing health insurance coverage," AMA president Dr David Barbe said, referring to the government insurance program for the poor and disabled. A major test for McConnell's legislation expected early next week is an analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, which last month forecast that the prior version of the bill would have resulted in 22 million Americans losing insurance over the next decade. A day after that CBO analysis was issued, McConnell postponed a planned vote on the legislation because of a revolt within his own party, including moderates and hard-line conservatives. While the bill's prospects may look precarious, the same could have been said of health care legislation that ultimately was passed by the House of Representatives. Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan called off a vote in March in the face of a rebellion involving the disparate factions of the party but managed to coax enough lawmakers to back it and engineered narrow approval on May 4. Pence seeks support Vice president Mike Pence sought to shore up support among the nation's governors at a meeting in Rhode Island, but a key Republican governor, Ohio's John Kasich, came out strongly against the revised bill, saying its Medicaid cuts were too deep and it does too little to stabilise the insurance market. Kasich's opposition could put pressure on Rob Portman, a Republican senator from Ohio, who has not yet taken a position on the bill. If the current Senate legislation collapses, some lawmakers have raised the possibility of seeking bipartisan legislation to fix parts of Obamacare but leaving intact the structure of the Affordable Care Act, Democratic former President Barack Obama's signature legislative achievement, commonly known as Obamacare. "There are changes that need to be made to the law," Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Senate Democrat, told MSNBC, citing "a bipartisan appetite to tackle this issue." Moderate Susan Collins and conservative Rand Paul already oppose the revised Senate bill. Other Republican senators have either expressed concern or remained noncommittal, including Portman, Mike Lee, Shelley Moore Capito, John McCain, Dean Heller, John Hoeven, Lisa Murkowski, Jeff Flake, Ben Sasse, Cory Gardner, Todd Young and Thom Tillis. Republican Senators Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy floated an alternative plan. The new version was crafted to satisfy the Republican Party's various elements, including moderates worried about Americans who would be left without medical coverage and hard-line conservatives who demand less government regulation of health insurance. A provision championed by Republican Senator Ted Cruz and aimed at attracting conservatives would let insurers sell cheap, bare-bones insurance policies that would not have to cover broad benefits mandated under Obamacare. But two major health insurance groups, America's Health Insurance Plans and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, called on McConnell to drop the Cruz proposal, saying it would undermine protections for pre-existing medical conditions, raise insurance premiums and destabilise the individual insurance market. The bill retained certain Obamacare taxes on the wealthy that the earlier version would have eliminated, a step moderates could embrace. But it kept the core of the earlier bill, including ending the expansion of Medicaid that was instrumental in enabling Obamacare to expand coverage to 20 million people, and restructuring that social safety-net program. John Thune, a member of the Senate Republican leadership, said in order to complete work on the bill by the end of next week, Senate leaders would have to try to formally begin debate on Tuesday or Wednesday, a move that requires a majority vote.

Another Republican defection would doom Senate healthcare bill

Senate Republican leaders released on Thursday a revised plan to dismantle the Obamacare law, but it drew criticism from senators on both sides of the political divide within the Republican party, indicating a treacherous path for the bill.

The bill played to the party&#39;s disparate factions by letting insurers sell cheap, bare-bones policies while retaining taxes on the wealthy.

But the immediate outcry illustrated the difficult political terrain that US&nbsp;Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell must navigate. He is under pressure by President Donald Trump to pass a healthcare bill and make good on Republicans&#39; seven-year mission to gut Democratic former President Barack Obama&#39;s signature legislative achievement.

In addition to the criticism from some senators, a major hospital association and one large insurer said the measure falls short in critical areas.

With Democrats united against it, McConnell cannot afford to lose more than two Republican senators to win passage. But moderate Susan Collins and conservative Rand Paul voiced opposition to even bringing the new plan up for debate.

Several senators said they had concerns about the legislation, particularly its Medicaid cuts, including Shelley Moore Capito, Rob Portman and John McCain. And two other Republican senators, Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy, complicated matters by announcing an alternative plan.

McConnell, a skilful tactician who was forced two weeks ago to scrub a planned vote on an earlier version opposed by both moderates and hard-line conservatives in his party, has planned for a vote on the retooled bill next week.

The continuing lack of consensus among Republicans on what to do with Obamacare after calling for its demise since 2010 shows that it is no sure thing that Trump&#39;s party will be able to get the job done.

Healthcare is Trump&#39;s first major legislative initiative. Failure would call into question his party&#39;s ability to govern despite controlling both chambers of Congress and the White House.

&nbsp;

&quot;SKINNY PLANS&quot;

The measure represents a retreat from long-standing Republican aspirations to dump Obamacare-related taxes.

It retains two taxes on the wealthy that helped pay for the Obamacare law that the previous version would have repealed, and also keeps Obamacare&#39;s limits on corporate tax deductions for executive pay in the health insurance industry.

The bill included a provision allowing insurers to offer stripped-down, low-cost healthcare plans - a measure proposed by Senator Ted Cruz to try to win over holdout conservatives.

These &quot;skinny plans&quot; would not have to cover the broad benefits mandated under Obamacare like maternity and newborn care, mental health services and addiction treatment, outpatient care, hospitalisation, emergency room visits and prescription drugs.

Insurer groups, including the national Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, have derided the skinny plans, saying they would raise insurance premiums, destabilise the individual insurance market and undermine protections for pre-existing medical conditions. Moderate senators could balk at the provision for the same reasons.

The new bill provides an additional $70 billion to help stabilise the individual insurance market on top of the $112 billion in the original bill to help insurers slow growth in premium costs and help lower-income insurance holders cover out-of-pocket medical expenses.

The bill would phase out the Obamacare expansion of the Medicaid government health insurance programme for the poor and disabled, and includes sharp cuts to federal Medicaid spending beginning in 2025.

Moderate Republicans were spurned in their desire to see a reduction in Medicaid cuts in the revised version.

Critics said despite some changes to coax wavering senators, the revised bill&#39;s core remains unchanged: restructuring and cutting the critical Medicaid social safety-net programme, taking away insurance from millions of Americans and driving up healthcare costs for millions of the most vulnerable Americans, especially older people and the sick.

The revamped bill contains a provision that appears to be aimed at winning over Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, a moderate who had opposed the original bill. It would funnel additional money to states that have higher insurance premiums &ndash; at least 75 percent above the national average. Alaska is the only state with premiums that high, Senate aides said.

&nbsp;

&quot;UNACCEPTABLE FLAWS&quot;

Hospital and insurer groups have spoken out against the Senate Republican approach, particularly proposed Medicaid cuts. The cuts would result in lower revenues for hospital companies like Community Health Systems Inc&nbsp;and Medicaid insurance specialists like Molina Healthcare&nbsp;and Centene Corp.

Molina Healthcare, which has more than one&nbsp;million customers on the Obamacare individual exchanges and manages Medicaid health programs, said the changes would leave insurers competing for the least risky customers and would make plans for sick people unaffordable.

The American Hospital Association said the new version of the bill retained the &quot;unacceptable flaws&quot; of the previous version.

&quot;Instead of merely putting forth an update, we again call on the Senate to put forth an upgrade,&quot; Rick Pollack, president of the association, said in a statement.

Healthcare stocks were mostly unmoved by the announcement, as Wall Street analysts described the core of the revised bill as largely unchanged from the earlier one.

The new bill includes another $45 billion for fighting the opioid addiction epidemic, on top of the $2 billion in the earlier version.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, which forecast that the previous version would have increased the number of Americans without health insurance by 22 million by 2026, is due to evaluate the new bill in coming days.

The Affordable Care Act, dubbed Obamacare, expanded health insurance coverage to some 20 million people, in large part by expanding Medicaid. The House of Representatives on May 4 passed its own version of healthcare legislation.

Republicans have a 52-48 Senate majority, with Vice President Mike Pence able to cast a potential tie-breaking vote. Any bill passed by the Senate would have to go back to the House for approval.

Repealing and replacing Obamacare, which Republicans fault as a costly government intrusion into the healthcare system, was a top campaign promise for Trump, who was monitoring the Senate developments during his visit to Paris.

&quot;I&#39;d say the only thing more difficult than peace between Israel and the Palestinians is healthcare,&quot; Trump told reporters on his flight to Paris.

Trump's effort to replace Obamacare hit yet another setback

Senate Republican leaders released on Thursday a revised plan to dismantle the Obamacare law, but it drew criticism from senators on both sides of the political divide within the Republican party, indicating a treacherous path for the bill. The bill played to the party's disparate factions by letting insurers sell cheap, bare-bones policies while retaining taxes on the wealthy. But the immediate outcry illustrated the difficult political terrain that US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell must navigate. He is under pressure by President Donald Trump to pass a healthcare bill and make good on Republicans' seven-year mission to gut Democratic former President Barack Obama's signature legislative achievement. In addition to the criticism from some senators, a major hospital association and one large insurer said the measure falls short in critical areas. With Democrats united against it, McConnell cannot afford to lose more than two Republican senators to win passage. But moderate Susan Collins and conservative Rand Paul voiced opposition to even bringing the new plan up for debate. Several senators said they had concerns about the legislation, particularly its Medicaid cuts, including Shelley Moore Capito, Rob Portman and John McCain. And two other Republican senators, Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy, complicated matters by announcing an alternative plan. McConnell, a skilful tactician who was forced two weeks ago to scrub a planned vote on an earlier version opposed by both moderates and hard-line conservatives in his party, has planned for a vote on the retooled bill next week. The continuing lack of consensus among Republicans on what to do with Obamacare after calling for its demise since 2010 shows that it is no sure thing that Trump's party will be able to get the job done. Healthcare is Trump's first major legislative initiative. Failure would call into question his party's ability to govern despite controlling both chambers of Congress and the White House. "SKINNY PLANS" The measure represents a retreat from long-standing Republican aspirations to dump Obamacare-related taxes. It retains two taxes on the wealthy that helped pay for the Obamacare law that the previous version would have repealed, and also keeps Obamacare's limits on corporate tax deductions for executive pay in the health insurance industry. The bill included a provision allowing insurers to offer stripped-down, low-cost healthcare plans - a measure proposed by Senator Ted Cruz to try to win over holdout conservatives. These "skinny plans" would not have to cover the broad benefits mandated under Obamacare like maternity and newborn care, mental health services and addiction treatment, outpatient care, hospitalisation, emergency room visits and prescription drugs. Insurer groups, including the national Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, have derided the skinny plans, saying they would raise insurance premiums, destabilise the individual insurance market and undermine protections for pre-existing medical conditions. Moderate senators could balk at the provision for the same reasons. The new bill provides an additional $70 billion to help stabilise the individual insurance market on top of the $112 billion in the original bill to help insurers slow growth in premium costs and help lower-income insurance holders cover out-of-pocket medical expenses. The bill would phase out the Obamacare expansion of the Medicaid government health insurance programme for the poor and disabled, and includes sharp cuts to federal Medicaid spending beginning in 2025. Moderate Republicans were spurned in their desire to see a reduction in Medicaid cuts in the revised version. Critics said despite some changes to coax wavering senators, the revised bill's core remains unchanged: restructuring and cutting the critical Medicaid social safety-net programme, taking away insurance from millions of Americans and driving up healthcare costs for millions of the most vulnerable Americans, especially older people and the sick. The revamped bill contains a provision that appears to be aimed at winning over Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, a moderate who had opposed the original bill. It would funnel additional money to states that have higher insurance premiums – at least 75 percent above the national average. Alaska is the only state with premiums that high, Senate aides said. "UNACCEPTABLE FLAWS" Hospital and insurer groups have spoken out against the Senate Republican approach, particularly proposed Medicaid cuts. The cuts would result in lower revenues for hospital companies like Community Health Systems Inc and Medicaid insurance specialists like Molina Healthcare and Centene Corp. Molina Healthcare, which has more than one million customers on the Obamacare individual exchanges and manages Medicaid health programs, said the changes would leave insurers competing for the least risky customers and would make plans for sick people unaffordable. The American Hospital Association said the new version of the bill retained the "unacceptable flaws" of the previous version. "Instead of merely putting forth an update, we again call on the Senate to put forth an upgrade," Rick Pollack, president of the association, said in a statement. Healthcare stocks were mostly unmoved by the announcement, as Wall Street analysts described the core of the revised bill as largely unchanged from the earlier one. The new bill includes another $45 billion for fighting the opioid addiction epidemic, on top of the $2 billion in the earlier version. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, which forecast that the previous version would have increased the number of Americans without health insurance by 22 million by 2026, is due to evaluate the new bill in coming days. The Affordable Care Act, dubbed Obamacare, expanded health insurance coverage to some 20 million people, in large part by expanding Medicaid. The House of Representatives on May 4 passed its own version of healthcare legislation. Republicans have a 52-48 Senate majority, with Vice President Mike Pence able to cast a potential tie-breaking vote. Any bill passed by the Senate would have to go back to the House for approval. Repealing and replacing Obamacare, which Republicans fault as a costly government intrusion into the healthcare system, was a top campaign promise for Trump, who was monitoring the Senate developments during his visit to Paris. "I'd say the only thing more difficult than peace between Israel and the Palestinians is healthcare," Trump told reporters on his flight to Paris.

New US Senate Republicans healthcare bill in trouble already

The US House of Representatives approved a bill on Thursday to repeal major parts of Obamacare and replace it with a Republican healthcare plan, handing President Donald Trump his biggest legislative victory but setting up a tough fight in the Senate.

With the 217-213 vote, Republicans obtained just enough support to push the legislation through the House, sending it to the Senate for consideration. No Democrat&nbsp;voted for the bill.

The bill&#39;s passage represented a vital step toward fulfilling a top Trump campaign pledge and a seven-year Republican quest to dismantle Democratic former President Barack Obama&#39;s signature healthcare law. But the effort now faces new hurdles in the Senate, where the House bill will have difficulty gaining Republican support.

Thursday&#39;s vote was also a political victory for House Speaker Paul Ryan, demonstrating his ability to pull together a fractured Republican caucus after two failed attempts this year to win consensus on the healthcare legislation.

Democrats are hoping that the Republicans&#39; vote to repeal Obamacare will spark a voter backlash in next year&#39;s midterm congressional elections.

Some 20 million Americans gained healthcare coverage under Obama&#39;s 2010 Affordable Care Act, which has recently gathered support in public opinion polls. But Republicans have long attacked it, seeing the programme as government overreach and complaining that it drives up healthcare costs.

The Republican bill, known formally as the American Health Care Act, aims to repeal most Obamacare taxes, including a penalty for not buying health insurance. It would slash funding for Medicaid, the programme that provides insurance for the poor, and roll back much of Medicaid&#39;s expansion. 
 
(Reuters)

 
&nbsp;

With the 217-213 vote, Republicans obtained just enough support to push the legislation through the House

The US House of Representatives approved a bill on Thursday to repeal major parts of Obamacare and replace it with a Republican healthcare plan, handing President Donald Trump his biggest legislative victory but setting up a tough fight in the Senate. With the 217-213 vote, Republicans obtained just enough support to push the legislation through the House, sending it to the Senate for consideration. No Democrat voted for the bill. The bill's passage represented a vital step toward fulfilling a top Trump campaign pledge and a seven-year Republican quest to dismantle Democratic former President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law. But the effort now faces new hurdles in the Senate, where the House bill will have difficulty gaining Republican support. Thursday's vote was also a political victory for House Speaker Paul Ryan, demonstrating his ability to pull together a fractured Republican caucus after two failed attempts this year to win consensus on the healthcare legislation. Democrats are hoping that the Republicans' vote to repeal Obamacare will spark a voter backlash in next year's midterm congressional elections. Some 20 million Americans gained healthcare coverage under Obama's 2010 Affordable Care Act, which has recently gathered support in public opinion polls. But Republicans have long attacked it, seeing the programme as government overreach and complaining that it drives up healthcare costs. The Republican bill, known formally as the American Health Care Act, aims to repeal most Obamacare taxes, including a penalty for not buying health insurance. It would slash funding for Medicaid, the programme that provides insurance for the poor, and roll back much of Medicaid's expansion. (Reuters)

US House of Representatives passes healthcare bill in big win for Trump

Republicans in the US&nbsp;House of Representatives unveiled long-awaited legislation on Monday to repeal much of the Obamacare healthcare law, including its expansion of the Medicaid programme for the poor.

President Donald Trump and fellow Republicans in Congress have repeatedly promised to repeal and replace former Democratic President Barack Obama&#39;s signature domestic policy achievement known as the 2010 Affordable Care Act. It was not immediately clear if the bill had enough support to pass the Republican-led Congress. It goes next to two House committees for review.

The proposal would freeze enrollment in Obamacare&#39;s expanded Medicaid programme on January 1, 2020. States that expanded Medicaid could still sign up individuals until the end of 2019, and continue to receive enhanced federal funds for them thereafter, Republican aides said. But going forward, federal funds for Medicaid would be capped.

While eliminating the income-based subsidies for purchasing insurance under Obamacare, the proposal would instead offer age-based refundable tax credits. Those would be capped at upper-income levels, Republican aides said.

The proposal would repeal most Obamacare-levied taxes in January 2018 and immediately repeal the penalty for the individual and employer mandates to buy insurance. It would not, however, cap the existing tax exemption for employer-sponsored health insurance, although some lawmakers had favoured that.

&quot;Our legislation transfers power from Washington back to the American people,&quot; House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady said in a statement.

Democrats have warned that Republicans risk throwing the entire US&nbsp;healthcare system into chaos by repealing the Obamacare law that was passed by congressional Democrats over united Republican opposition. The law enabled about 20 million previously uninsured people to get medical insurance.

(Reuters)

It was not immediately clear if the bill had enough support to pass the Republican-led Congress

Republicans in the US House of Representatives unveiled long-awaited legislation on Monday to repeal much of the Obamacare healthcare law, including its expansion of the Medicaid programme for the poor. President Donald Trump and fellow Republicans in Congress have repeatedly promised to repeal and replace former Democratic President Barack Obama's signature domestic policy achievement known as the 2010 Affordable Care Act. It was not immediately clear if the bill had enough support to pass the Republican-led Congress. It goes next to two House committees for review. The proposal would freeze enrollment in Obamacare's expanded Medicaid programme on January 1, 2020. States that expanded Medicaid could still sign up individuals until the end of 2019, and continue to receive enhanced federal funds for them thereafter, Republican aides said. But going forward, federal funds for Medicaid would be capped. While eliminating the income-based subsidies for purchasing insurance under Obamacare, the proposal would instead offer age-based refundable tax credits. Those would be capped at upper-income levels, Republican aides said. The proposal would repeal most Obamacare-levied taxes in January 2018 and immediately repeal the penalty for the individual and employer mandates to buy insurance. It would not, however, cap the existing tax exemption for employer-sponsored health insurance, although some lawmakers had favoured that. "Our legislation transfers power from Washington back to the American people," House Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady said in a statement. Democrats have warned that Republicans risk throwing the entire US healthcare system into chaos by repealing the Obamacare law that was passed by congressional Democrats over united Republican opposition. The law enabled about 20 million previously uninsured people to get medical insurance. (Reuters)

US House Republicans unveil bill to repeal and replace Obamacare

Republican US lawmakers expect to unveil this week the text of long-awaited legislation to repeal and replace the Obamacare healthcare law, one of President Donald Trump&#39;s top legislative priorities, a senior Republican congressional aide said on Sunday.

Since taking office in January, Trump has pressed his fellow Republicans who control Congress to act quickly to dismantle former Democratic President Barack Obama&#39;s Affordable Care Act and pass a plan to replace it, but lawmakers in the party have differed on the specifics.

Democrats have warned that Republicans risk throwing the entire U.S. healthcare system into chaos by repealing the 2010 law that was passed by congressional Democrats over united Republican opposition. Republicans condemn it as a government overreach, and Trump has called it a &quot;disaster.&quot;

The aide cited progress in meetings and phone calls starting on Friday and lasting through the weekend involving House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, White House budget chief Mick Mulvaney, Trump domestic policy adviser Andrew Bremberg and others.

&quot;We are in a very good place right now, and while drafting continues, we anticipate the release of final bill text early this week,&quot; said the aide, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The aide called the expected bill a &quot;consensus Republican plan,&quot; but offered no details.

AshLee Strong, a spokeswoman for Ryan, said: &quot;We are now at the culmination of a years-long process to keep our promise to the American people.&quot;

The Obamacare law has proven popular in many states, even some controlled by Republicans, and it enabled about 20 million previously uninsured people to get medical insurance, although premium increases angered some.

(Reuters)

Since taking office, Trump has pressed his fellow Republicans to dismantle Obama's Affordable Care Act and pass a plan to replace it

Republican US lawmakers expect to unveil this week the text of long-awaited legislation to repeal and replace the Obamacare healthcare law, one of President Donald Trump's top legislative priorities, a senior Republican congressional aide said on Sunday. Since taking office in January, Trump has pressed his fellow Republicans who control Congress to act quickly to dismantle former Democratic President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act and pass a plan to replace it, but lawmakers in the party have differed on the specifics. Democrats have warned that Republicans risk throwing the entire U.S. healthcare system into chaos by repealing the 2010 law that was passed by congressional Democrats over united Republican opposition. Republicans condemn it as a government overreach, and Trump has called it a "disaster." The aide cited progress in meetings and phone calls starting on Friday and lasting through the weekend involving House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, White House budget chief Mick Mulvaney, Trump domestic policy adviser Andrew Bremberg and others. "We are in a very good place right now, and while drafting continues, we anticipate the release of final bill text early this week," said the aide, speaking on condition of anonymity. The aide called the expected bill a "consensus Republican plan," but offered no details. AshLee Strong, a spokeswoman for Ryan, said: "We are now at the culmination of a years-long process to keep our promise to the American people." The Obamacare law has proven popular in many states, even some controlled by Republicans, and it enabled about 20 million previously uninsured people to get medical insurance, although premium increases angered some. (Reuters)

US Republicans expected to unveil health care bill this week