--- title: Donald Trump May Sign Off on a 'Short-Term Fix' to Obamacare description: A bipartisan short-term fix is expected soon in the Senate canonical: https://time.com/4984315/donald-trump-obamacare-short-term-fix/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-10-16T19:52:44.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T17:52:49.626Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Trump May Sign Off on a 'Short-Term Fix' to Obamacare og:description: A bipartisan short-term fix is expected soon in the Senate og:url: https://time.com/4984315/donald-trump-obamacare-short-term-fix/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta953f9ae768f83de/6988e2294ee26235dd30f6d4/gettyimages-862035566.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: President Trump And Sen. Mitch McConnell Address Media After Working Lunch og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Trump May Sign Off on a 'Short-Term Fix' to Obamacare twitter:description: A bipartisan short-term fix is expected soon in the Senate twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta953f9ae768f83de/6988e2294ee26235dd30f6d4/gettyimages-862035566.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Trump May Sign Off on a 'Short-Term Fix' to Obamacare by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Oct 16, 2017 7:52 PM UTC  U.S. President Donald Trump (R) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) talk to reporters in the Rose Garden following a lunch meeting at the White House October 16, 2017 in Washington, DC. Trump and McConnell tried to erase reporting that they were not on the same page with the GOP legislative agenda and priorities. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) U.S. President Donald Trump (R) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) talk to reporters in the Rose Garden following a lunch meeting at the White House October 16, 2017 in Washington, DC. Trump and McConnell tried to erase reporting that they were not on the same page with the GOP legislative agenda and priorities. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Oct 16, 2017 7:52 PM UTC President Trump indicated Monday that he may sign off on a “short-term fix” to the Affordable Care Act being put together by Democratic and Republican senators. Speaking at a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Trump appeared to reference a bipartisan proposal from Sens. Patty Murray and Lamar Alexander, arguing that it was being pushed along by his decision to end [“cost-sharing reduction” payments](http://time.com/4980955/donald-trump-insurance-subsidy-obamacare/) to insurers. “We’re working on some kind of a short-term fix prior to the Republicans getting together, maybe with some Democrats … to fix healthcare permanently,” he said. Last week, Trump signed an an[ executive order ](http://time.com/4980534/health-care-trump/)that could give Americans access to cheaper plans that offer less coverage and announced the end of the insurer payments, which are designed to lower insurance costs for Americans buying on the Obamacare exchanges. On Monday, Trump said those actions had ensured that Obamacare was “dead,” which he felt would force lawmakers to negotiate. “They’re right now having emergency meetings to get a short-term fix of healthcare where premiums don’t have to double and triple every year like they’ve been doing under Obamacare,” he said. “Because Obamacare is finished. It’s dead. It’s gone. It’s no longer — you shouldn’t even mention. It’s gone. There is no such thing as Obamacare anymore.” But the Murray-Alexander negotiations were happening before Trump decided to “blow up” the Affordable Care Act. In September, the Senate committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions held four hearings featuring key stakeholders including bipartisan governors, state insurance commissioners and heads of clinics, to discuss ways to stabilize the insurance marketplaces. The goal of their plan would be to make payments to insurers over a short-period of time while also giving states more flexibility to craft and approve their own insurance policies. The committee’s chairman and ranking member, Alexander and Murray, were working on the outlines of a deal when Republicans announced they were trying their hand at repeal again. So, when the proposal from Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana was presented, Alexander paused the negotiations. When that bill failed, the Alexander-Murray talks resumed. On Sunday, the [Wall Street _Journal_](https://www.wsj.com/articles/health-care-back-on-congresss-front-burner-1508099498) reported that the plan is expected to be released within days, but a Hill aide says they do not yet have a timeline for the announcement. In a phone call on Saturday, Trump discussed the effort with Alexander. Once the deal is released, getting it through Congress likely won’t be an easy task. Conservatives have long pilloried cost-sharing payments and the president’s own budget director, Mick Mulvaney, has said his boss will not support a Alexander-Murray bill unless a deal on some of his major agenda items comes with it. “If the straight-up question is: Is the president interested in continuing what he sees as corporate welfare and bailouts for the insurance companies? No,” Mulvaney told [Politico](http://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/13/trump-opposes-bipartisan-obamacare-rescue-plan-243752) last week. Yet, some Republicans have signaled support for the bipartisan deal. Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who has cast pivotal votes against repeal efforts, was critical of the President’s recent moves in [an interview with ABC’s “This Week”](http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/republican-senator-disappointed-trumps-actions-health-care/story?id=50482992) and said it was time for Congress to act. “Congress needs to step in and I hope the president will take a look at what we’re doing,” she said. Cassidy also said in an interview with [“Fox News Sunday”](http://www.foxnews.com/transcript/2017/10/15/gen-h-r-mcmaster-on-president-trumps-new-iran-strategy.html) that he wants a short-term funding solution to pass in Congress. “We absolutely have to think about that family around the kitchen table, which is why I think Congress should pass them,” he said. Whatever comes of the deal, it will come too late to affect the 2018 marketplaces, where insurers have already set their rates for the year. 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