Trump thinks Obamacare repeal has "a very good chance" of passing
President Trump seems guardedly optimistic he'll finally have a bill to sign that repeals and replaces the Affordable Care Act.
"I think it's got a very good chance, he told reporters during a photo op with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi at the United Nations Wednesday afternoon. He said that there was "tremendous support from Republicans" for the bill, and he thinks that a lot of Republicans are "embarrassed by the fact that they have so far not been able to pass a bill to repeal the ACA.
The president estimated that the Graham-Cassidy bill, which will be voted on by the Senate next week, has 47 or 48 votes so far. It will need 51, including Vice President Mike Pence's vote, to pass.
Pence, who was also in the meeting, said the Graham-Cassidy bill would "give the American people a fresh start on health care reform -- not with government mandates -- but by repealing mandates on businesses and individuals and giving resources to states to create health care solutions that will work for each individual state."
Mr. Trump also said of the measure, "I think it's much better than the previous shot," referring to the Senate bill, the Better Care Reconciliation Act that failed by a single vote in July.
The president mused, "I thought that when I won, I would go to the Oval Office, sit down at my desk, and there would be a health care bill on my desk, to be honest. And it hasn't worked out that way."
Allowing the ACA to continue is not an option the president is considering. "Obamacare cannot make it. It cannot make it," he said, calling it "dysfunctional" and a "trainwreck."