The president has previously floated the idea of direct payments to taxpayers in other areas.
President Donald Trump is urging Republican lawmakers to redirect federal dollars that would go to insurers under the Affordable Care Act to individual Americans, a potential compromise on an issue at the heart of the prolonged federal government shutdown.
“I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars currently being sent to money sucking Insurance Companies in order to save the bad Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, be sent directly to the people so that they can purchase their own, much better, healthcare, and have money left over,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Nov. 8.
“In other words, take from the big, bad Insurance Companies, give it to the people, and terminate, per Dollar spent, the worst Healthcare anywhere in the World, ObamaCare.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how Trump’s proposed direct-payment plan would work in practice.
Meanwhile, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) quickly signaled support, saying he is drafting legislation to implement Trump’s proposal.
“We must stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the health care they want,” Scott wrote on X, referring to health savings accounts that allow people to save pre-tax dollars for future qualified medical expenses.
“This will increase competition and drive down costs.”
Trump has previously floated the idea of direct payments to taxpayers in other areas.
In February, as the Department of Government Efficiency pursued cost-cutting measures, Trump suggested that some of the money saved could be returned to taxpayers. He later discussed the possibility of using tariff revenue to fund “a dividend to the people of America.”
By Bill Pan
