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Trump: Obamacare key provisions to remain

  • Published at 05:22 pm November 12th, 2016
Trump: Obamacare key provisions to remain
US President-elect Donald Trump has said he is open to leaving intact key parts of President Barack Obama's healthcare bill. Trump, who has pledged to repeal the 2010 law, said he will keep the ban on insurers denying coverage for pre-existing conditions. He told the Wall Street Journal that he also favoured allowing young adults to be insured on their parents' policies. "I like those very much," Trump said of the two pillars of the bill. It was his meeting with Obama on Thursday that had made him reconsider his calls for an all-out replacement of the Affordable Care Act, he told the newspaper. Asked whether he would implement a campaign promise to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate his defeated Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton over her use of a private email server while secretary of state, Trump said: "It's not something I've given a lot of thought, because I want to solve healthcare, jobs, border control, tax reform." Meanwhile, protesters angered by Trump's election gathered in several US cities for a third night on Friday. Thousands took to the streets of Miami, Atlanta, Philadelphia, New York, San Francisco and Portland, Oregon, voicing anger at the president-elect's comments about immigrants, Muslims and women. In a separate interview with CBS, Trump said the parts of Obama's healthcare bill he was "going to try to keep" were "the strongest assets". He said that while the bill would be repealed and replaced, the changes would provide Americans with "great healthcare for much less money". He made the statement during an interview with the 60 Minutes programme, which is due to air on Sunday. During the election campaign, Trump said the government-run health insurance marketplace was "a total disaster" and "a catastrophe". "Obamacare is just blowing up," he said only last month, while promising his own plan would deliver "great healthcare at a fraction of the cost". While running for president, Trump did not offer much detail on what he envisaged would be Obamacare's replacement. The Republican's plan included tax-deductible health savings accounts and allowing insurers to sell coverage across state lines. Though the Republicans have maintained control of the Senate, they cannot repeal the Affordable Care Act in its entirety because under Senate rules, the Democratic minority remain in a position to block the move. The Republicans could, however, starve parts of the bill of funding through a budgetary process called reconciliation. Last month, the Obama administration said the average cost of medical coverage under the bill was expected to rise by 25% next year for those Americans who do not qualify for subsidies. And about one in five consumers would only be able to pick plans from a single insurer, it added. Former President Bill Clinton last month called the unsubsidised portion of the law "the craziest thing in the world". In the US - unlike in many other Western countries - private companies, rather than the government, provide health insurance for most citizens.