President Trump at CPAC: ‘Piece by Piece by Piece, Obamacare Is Being Wiped Out’

OXON HILL, Maryland– President Donald Trump declared at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Friday morning, “Piece by piece by piece, Obamacare is being wiped out!”

President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in December, which repealed Obamacare’s individual mandate.

Trump then chided Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), arguing that McCain blocked Obamacare repeal.

“I don’t want to be controversial, so I won’t use his name,” Trump remarked, adding that one senator [McCain] voted with his thumbs down instead of voting with his thumbs up.

Sen. McCain voted against the “skinny” repeal bill of Obamacare and then blocked the Graham-Cassidy block grant repeal bill last year.

President Trump then suggested that repealing Obamacare “piece by piece by piece” may serve as a better strategy than trying to repeal Obamacare with a comprehensive replacement bill such as Graham-Cassidy or the House-passed American Health Care Act (AHCA).

House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-NC) told Breitbart News in an exclusive interview that he, along with other House Republicans, continue to work on legislation that would prevent the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from collecting Obamacare employer mandate fines as well as legislation that would lower health insurance premiums.

Meadows revealed, “There are a number of us that believe that in the next 90 days, we must require action to bring premiums down. I think you will see a flurry of legislative ideas that will try to do exactly that.”

President Donald Trump signed an executive order in October to expand short-term, limited-duration health insurance plans. Before the executive order, Americans could only purchase these short-term health insurance plans for a maximum of three months; thanks to President Trump’s executive order, Americans can now retain the short-term health plan for any period under 12 months.

Trump remarked that these short-term health insurance plans “cost a fraction of the price” of an Obamacare plan.

Short-term health insurance plans do not have to comply with all of the Obamacare insurance regulations such as community rating and essential health benefits, allowing Americans to have more affordable health insurance options.

In October, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) praised Trump’s executive order as “the biggest free-market reform of health care in a generation,” adding that it will allow Americans to purchase health insurance across state lines.

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma claimed in a statement on Tuesday, “Americans who find themselves between jobs or simply can’t afford coverage because prices are too high will be helped by President Trump’s Healthcare for All Executive Order.”