Donald Trump is calling for a major overhaul of U.S. healthcare funding, proposing that hundreds of billions of dollars currently allocated to insurance companies be directed rather to citizens for individual healthcare expenses.The former president reiterated his long-standing criticism of the Affordable Care Act, frequently enough referred to as “Obamacare,” in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social.
This proposal comes as the U.S. grapples with ongoing debates over healthcare costs and access, and as a recent government shutdown highlighted deep divisions in Congress over federal spending. Trump’s suggestion aims to bypass the existing insurance system,allowing individuals to directly manage their healthcare finances – a concept that echoes previous Republican efforts to dismantle and replace the ACA.
“I recommend to the Republicans in the Senate that the hundreds of billions of dollars that are currently going to insurance companies siphoning off money to save the terrible health care system provided by Obamacare, be given directly to the people so that thay can pay for their own health care, which will be much better, and still have money left,” Trump stated. He further urged lawmakers to “take (the money) from the big,bad insurance companies,give them to the people and destroy the worst health care system in the world,Obamacare.”
The call for a shift in funding coincides with a period of political gridlock that led to a partial U.S. federal government shutdown starting October 1,stemming from disagreements over healthcare spending. This shutdown has now become the longest in U.S. history, surpassing the 35-day shutdown from December 22, 2018, to January 25, 2019, during Trump’s first term. Democrats and Republicans continue to blame each other for the impasse and its potential consequences.
