SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO AM) - President Trump still has his sights set on Obamacare and tweeted yesterday that a "new healthcare plan is on its way."
Trump is promising lower premiums and continued protection for people with pre-existing conditions.
South Dakota Senator Mike Rounds says there is concern on Capitol Hill over the costs of transition. Rounds says there's also a concern that lawmakers don't want to burden the states with essential health benefits that were mandated by the federal government. He thinks there's some middle ground there and that it will be expensive to get out of Obamacare long-term.
Rounds says changes will take time but he'd like to see this issue resolved by 2020 and get back into a competitive healthcare industry again. He wants to abolish the current subsidies and transition states that had enhanced their Medicaid, unless they want to keep it in the future "fine, but they get to pay for it."
Rounds says despite initial costs, the move makes economic sense. He says it's going to be less expansive than Obamacare is, but "we have to transition back out to the private side. We got to get more people on group health insurance and fewer people on subsidies from the federal government."
He says it's also important for states to participate in managing their own insurance programs, giving them the ability to innovate.
The House did not vote last week on a revitalized attempt to repeal and replace Obamacare, but Trump is sending signals that action is on the horizon.
(Thanks Jerry Oster, WNAX Yankton)