President Donald Trump spent much of the summer of 2017 fuming over the failure of Congress to repeal and replace Obamacare. Donald Trump relentlessly berated members of both the US Senate and House of Representatives for their inability to get a new health care bill pushed through, even going as far as threatening members of Congress in the process. Now it appears a pair of governors, rumored to be contemplating a bipartisan 2020 ticket, are hoping to pave the way forward where the trump administration and Congress previously failed.
Kasich and Hickenlooper release stabilization proposal
Governors John Kasich (R-Oh) and John Hickenlooper (D-Co) issued a proposal on Thursday meant to help stabilize the Obamacare marketplaces until a replacement plan can be agreed upon by members of Congress and sent to the White House for Donald Trump’s signature. In particular, Kasich and Hickenlooper are proposing leaving the Obamacare individual mandate in place for the time being despite its unpopularity.
Both governors point out that the mandate is unpopular because of the fines it enforces on Americans who choose not to purchase healthcare. However, in a statement released along with the proposal, the pair noted the individual mandate is important in helping to stabilize the Obamacare insurance markets because “it is perhaps the most important incentive for healthy people to enroll in coverage.”
Bipartisan hearings start in the Senate next week
The proposal from Governors Kasich and Hickenlooper has bipartisan support, with the governors of six other states signing onto the plan proposed to both houses of Congress.
The governors of Alaska, Nevada, Louisiana, Montana, Pennsylvania, and Virginia all signed onto the proposal.
Next week a series of bipartisan hearings are set to take place in the Senate to try and find a way forward on stabilizing the insurance markets in the US. The Trump administration has been pushing for repeal since Donald Trump’s inauguration and even proposed withholding cost sharing reduction (CSR) payments to insurers as part of Obamacare.
The bipartisan proposal from the group of governors also includes a call for the Trump administration to commit to making those key funding payments under the CSR obligation. President Donald Trump has not yet committed to making those payments beyond the month of August and has even threatened to cancel them altogether.
Potential pairing for 2020 election
The healthcare proposal presented by Governors Kasich and Hickenlooper is the second time in a week the two governors have had their names in the news. Governor Kasich lost the Republican nomination to Donald Trump in 2016 but stayed in the fight to the bitter end in hopes of protecting the party from an individual in Trump he believed lacked conservative values.
Now, rumors are swirling that Kasich and Governor John Hickenlooper are considering a bipartisan ticket for the 2020 election. Dating back to the start of the Obama administration, Democrats and Republicans have taken turns playing obstructionist to the other party’s goals. The Trump administration has routinely blasted Democrats for obstructing the president’s agenda.
A bipartisan ticket with Governors Kasich and Hickenlooper represents an effort to bridge the divide between the parties and get Congress working efficiently once again for the American people. This healthcare proposal from the two governors does little to end the rumors of that bipartisan 2020 ticket.
