Democrats are turning up the heat on Republicans after the House narrowly passed a health care bill to replace Obamacare. Senate Republicans have expressed little interest in voting on the House bill and will come up with their own plan. That work is expected to start in the Senate Health Committee. Republicans hold a slim majority in the Senate so there's not much wiggle room. Democrats are vowing to hold Republicans accountable for repealing Obamacare in the midterm elections.
Meanwhile, President Trump is urging Republican senators to pass the measure that would repeal and replace Obamacare. In his weekly address on Saturday, Trump touted the passage of the healthcare bill in the House this week. He called Obamacare a disaster and said it is one of the "worst job-killing laws of all". The President said passing the Republican healthcare bill in the Senate will be a big win for Americans. He added that the bill will bring down premiums and deductibles while providing more healthcare options for American families.
A top Democrat is calling the revised GOP healthcare bill "dangerous and deeply flawed." Maryland Congressman Steny Hoyer used the response to President Trump’s weekly address to explain that Democrats were unanimous in voting to reject "Trumpcare," because, quote, "we know exactly the harm it would do to healthcare in our country." Hoyer also predicted the bill passed by the House this week will kick 24-million Americans off their insurance coverage and will make health insurance unaffordable for the one-in-four Americans with pre-existing conditions.
President Trump is trying to clarify what he said about Australian health care. He told the Australian prime minister this week that Australia has better health care than the U.S. Some Democrats seized on the fact that Australia has universal health coverage. In a new tweet, Trump said, quote, "Of course the Australians have better health care than we do; everybody does." The President then argued that "Obamacare is dead" and said things will "soon be great." Trump is supporting the GOP House health care bill that aims to repeal and replace Obamacare. The measure faces an uncertain fate in the Senate.