U.S. President
Donald Trump failed on Thursday to convince enough skeptical members of his own
Republican Party to begin dismantling Obamacare, forcing the
House of
Representatives to delay a vote on the healthcare legislation.
The day was
designed to be a big symbolic win for conservatives, with Trump and House
Republican leaders planning the vote on the seventh anniversary of former
Democratic President Barack Obama signing his namesake healthcare law, formally
known as the Affordable Care Act, which became a favored target of Republicans.
Instead, the
vote was postponed indefinitely, dealing a setback to Trump in what he hoped
would be his first legislative victory. His staff and allies had billed him as
"the closer" for high-stakes negotiations with lawmakers.
The vote was
seen by financial markets as a crucial test of Trump's ability to work with
Congress to deliver on his agenda, including planned tax cuts and
infrastructure spending. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended very slightly
down on Thursday.
"Not
good. Market doesn't like it," David Kotok, chairman and chief investment
officer at Cumberland Advisors, a money management firm, said after the delay
was announced.
Uncertainty
over the bill rattled financial markets this week. U.S. stock markets rose
steadily in recent months on optimism over a pro-business Trump agenda but fell
back sharply on Tuesday as investors worried that failure to push through the
healthcare bill could postpone other Trump priorities like tax reform.
"Delay on
healthcare equates to delay on tax cuts. That is why the market turned red when
the news flow suggested they didn't have a deal," Kotok said.
MARKET TURNED
RED
Trump and
Republicans had campaigned on a promise to repeal and replace Obamacare, passed
in 2010.
Republican
control of the White House, the Senate and the House has given the party a
chance to achieve what it has long aspired to do - overturn a law they cast as
too invasive and too expensive.
Obamacare
aimed to boost the number of Americans with health insurance through mandates
on individuals and employers, and income-based subsidies. Some 20 million
Americans gained insurance coverage through the law.
The House
replacement plan, formally called the American Health Care Act, would rescind
the taxes created by Obamacare, repeal a penalty against people who do not buy
coverage, slash funding for the Medicaid program for the poor and disabled, and
modify tax subsidies that help individuals buy plans.
Conservative
Republicans objected to the bill because they thought it did not go far enough,
and was too similar to Obamacare. Moderate Republicans thought it was too hard
on their constituents.
Groups of
lawmakers from both camps have met with Trump, and a gathering of moderates
known as the "Tuesday Group" were still set to meet with him at the
White House on Thursday.
The
Republicans have a majority in the House but because of united Democratic
opposition, can afford to lose only 21 Republican votes. As of Thursday
morning, NBC News said that 30 Republicans had planned to vote "no"
or were leaning that way.
With this delay,
House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan and his Republican leadership team
will continue to search for ways to alter the legislation and bring it to a
vote.
Even if it
does get approval from the House, the legislation faces a potentially tough
fight in the Republican-controlled Senate.
The House and
Senate had hoped to deliver a new healthcare bill to Trump by April 8, when
Congress is scheduled to begin a two-week spring break.
The delay in
the house vote is likely to contribute to the ups and downs that have marked
hospitals and some insurers for the past month. Most Wall Street analysts are
expecting hospital and insurer stocks to be volatile as the likelihood of new
healthcare legislation rises and falls.
The
nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated 14 million people would lose
medical coverage under the Republican plan by next year. It also said 24
million fewer people would be insured by 2026.
Graphic on
Obamacare and Republican healthcare bill (tmsnrt.rs/2n0ZMKf)
Graphic on
shifting positions in the U.S. Senate on Republican healthcare bill (tmsnrt.rs/2mUE4Xf)
Graphic on
poll on Americans' views of the Republican healthcare bill ( tmsnrt.rs/2n7f3e4)
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