--- title: President Obama Plans Obamacare Defense With Democrats description: President Obama will hold a meeting with Democrats on Capitol Hill on Wednesday to discuss how to protect the Affordable Care Act next year canonical: https://time.com/4619873/barack-obama-obamacare-repeal-donald-trump/ author: Sam Frizell article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-12-30T17:29:27.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:54:47.277Z article:section: Politics og:title: Obama Wants to Help Democrats Save Obamacare From Donald Trump og:description: A Capitol Hill meeting is set for shortly after New Year's Day og:url: https://time.com/4619873/barack-obama-obamacare-repeal-donald-trump/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2e1915e08c4416d8/6988b433bc6cfc30c53dface/gettyimages-504725244.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4638 og:image:height: 2609 og:image:alt: President Obama Delivers His Last State Of The Union Address To Joint Session Of Congress og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Obama Wants to Help Democrats Save Obamacare From Donald Trump twitter:description: A Capitol Hill meeting is set for shortly after New Year's Day twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2e1915e08c4416d8/6988b433bc6cfc30c53dface/gettyimages-504725244.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Obama Wants to Help Democrats Save Obamacare From Donald Trump > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Donald Trump Says He’s Willing to Preserve Parts of Obamacare [Watch (HLS stream): Donald Trump Says He’s Willing to Preserve Parts of Obamacare](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ecntrDtE.m3u8) (0:48)  _Published 2016-11-12. President-elect Donald Trump, who had repeatedly campaigned on a promise to repeal the Affordable Care Act, said Friday that he would consider keeping certain parts of the health care law after meeting with President Obama at the White House._ by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Dec 30, 2016 5:29 PM UTC  U.S. President Barack Obama talks with members of Congress after delivering his State of the Union speech before members of Congress in the House chamber of the U.S. Capitol January 12, 2016 in Washington, DC. U.S. President Barack Obama talks with members of Congress after delivering his State of the Union speech before members of Congress in the House chamber of the U.S. Capitol January 12, 2016 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Dec 30, 2016 5:29 PM UTC [President Obama](http://time.com/4302043/barack-obama-2016-time-100/) will hold a meeting with [Democrats on Capitol Hill](http://time.com/4596817/democrats-donald-trump-congress/) on Wednesday to discuss how to protect [the Affordable Care Act](http://time.com/4584755/donald-trump-cabinet-tom-price-health-human-services-obamacare/) next year against Republican efforts to dismantle his signature domestic achievement. The meeting will include both House and Senate Democrats, a senior Democratic aide confirmed. The meeting was first reported by[_Politico_](http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/obama-to-huddle-with-hill-democrats-on-saving-obamacare-233062). Republicans are planning a rapid repeal of the Affordable Care Act early next year, a move that would finally fulfill a GOP campaign promise but also throw the country’s health insurance markets into uncertainty. Republican leaders have said they may delay the repeal’s effective date for as long as three years to allow time to implement a replacement. Democrats are divided on how best to salvage Obamacare. Some have expressed a willingness to work with Republicans on a replacement to the law, but almost all are united against attempts to repeal it. Incoming Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has promised to try and block Republicans’ repeal efforts next year, as well as a conservative replacement. “They have nothing to put in its place,” Schumer said earlier this month. “To our Republican friends across the aisle, bring it on.” More than 20 million people have insurance as a result of the legislation, including people under the age of 26 who are allowed to stay on their parents’ plans and people with preexisting conditions. Obama has credited the law for slowing the growth in the rise of health care costs. The law’s critics have taken aim at rising premiums in certain states. President-Elect [Donald Trump](http://time.com/time-person-of-the-year-2016-donald-trump/) has promised to keep in place some of the more popular aspects of the law, including prohibiting insurance from denying coverage to people with preexisting conditions. Health policy experts widely consider such cherry-picking to be unworkable, since the popular elements of the law are paid for by more unpopular elements like the mandate that people have insurance or pay a fine. ## Transcript [ BLANK_AUDIO ] [ MUSIC ] Real change begins with immediately repealing and replacing Obamacare! 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