>
Article snippet: A Senate healthcare deal to extend critical ObamaCare payments to insurers appears all but completely dead just 24 hours after it was announced. President Trump reversed course Wednesday and said he opposed the deal, while Speaker MORE’s (R-Wis.) office said the Senate should keep its focus on repealing and replacing President Obama’s signature law. Sen. MORE (S.D.), the third-ranking Senate Republican, acknowledged the deal had “stalled out.” Democrats, who hailed the agreement on Tuesday, signaled they were preparing to blame Republicans for walking away from the deal crafted by Health Committee Chairman MORE (Wash.), the panel’s top Democrat. “Lamar and Patty came up with a deal,” Senate Democratic Leader MORE (N.Y.) told reporters. “This is the agreement.” The compromise would provide two years of payments to insurers, compensating them for lowering the out-of-pocket health care costs of certain ObamaCare enrollees. Trump announced he was canceling the payments last week, arguing the previous administration lacked the authority to make them. Without the payments, the Congressional Budget Office has said premiums could rise as much as 20 percent, and enrollment would likely fall. Democrats say Trump is seeking to sabotage the law by ending the payments, along with other administrative moves he’s made that they say could damage ObamaCare. The Alexander-Murray language would also grant states more flexibility to waive ObamaCare rules, a key Republican ask. Lowe... Link to the full article to read more