"I don't want people to get hurt...What I think should happen and will happen is..."

[Miles Archer]

President Donald Trump is now threatening to wipe out health insurance for millions of people in order to make a political statement. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal Wednesday, Trump suggested that unless Democrats agree to his plans to dismantle Obamacare, he might use his executive authority to intentionally trigger a death spiral for the individual insurance markets.

Specifically, Trump threatened to stop making payments to insurance companies to reimburse them for subsidies that help offset the costs of deductibles and copayments for low-income people. Those subsidies are mandated by Obamacare; if the feds stopped reimbursing insurers for this expense, they would likely abandon the individual markets and leave millions without coverage.

The president seemed to acknowledge in the interview that halting the reimbursements would likely result in the health care markets collapsing, but he said he might go through with it in order to extract concessions from Democrats. "Obamacare is dead next month if it doesn't get that money," Trump told the paper. "I haven't made my viewpoint clear yet. I don't want people to get hurt…What I think should happen and will happen is the Democrats will start calling me and negotiating."

As Trump himself said, ending the program would be a disaster for Obamacare. It would cause insurance companies to flee the individual markets (which, in some parts of the country, already suffer from a lack of insurance options). And the remaining insurance offerings would jump in price. An analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that premiums for a baseline plan would jump 19 percent if cost sharing disappears.

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/04/donald-trump-obamacare-cost-sharing-reductions

[Solly Mack]

1. I don't want people to get hurt, but I will pull the trigger if I don't get my way.

And, somehow, the man who pulls the trigger that kills many will successfully blame others for his assault.

The Democrats in Congress left me no choice. I had to kill your child, your spouse, even you, to kill Obamacare.

[MineralMan]

2. Ya, see, I don't want nobody should get hurt, so them Democrats

had oughta play along with me, nice-like. That way, everything would be, you know, copacetic.

[dchill]

3. That's criminal.

[Historic NY]

4. Democrats need to sit back and watch, they were not included by Ryan & the GOP...

they should not have to participate in Trumps campaign promise to eliminate Obamacare. If he wants to fix it he needs to fix it with Republicans....I like to watch them dance on the string above the open flame.

[N_E_1 for Tennis]

5. I don't want people to get hurt...

Unless,

They are not able to get "regular" insurance.

If they are of a different color than me.

If they want to come to this country to escape death in their country.

If they are women.

If they protest me at my events.

Oh com'on add some more.......

[Charles Bukowski]

6. Trump is both stupid and evil enough to go through with this.

His approval rating would drop below 30% with this stunt, but the consequences would be disastrous for all.

[Miles Archer]

8. I wonder if his "followers" will see this for what it is

As GReedDiamond states below, it's extortion, plain and simple.

But when Trump places the blame solely on Democrats for "not negotiating"...which he most certainly will...will that register as a lie?

He doesn't want a "negotiation." He wants the Democrats to sign off on RyanCare, and he knows that won't happen, so he's not giving up without making as many people suffer as possible, so he can shift the blame.

I think his "followers" will listen to him first, and reason later...if at all.

I'm saying this from personal experience. I've posted a few threads about my sister and brother in law. They are about as brainwashed for Trump as you can get. I can already anticipate how they would react to this.

[GReedDiamond]

7. This is what happens when a mobbed-up thug...

...is the so-called "president."

Extortion.

Destroy the health insurance companies and hurt/kill their insureds unless the Mob Don gets his way.

Fucking pig asshole.

[NastyRiffraff]

9. I didn't think it was possible to hate this monster more

Turns out it is. He's willing to make millions suffer unless he gets his way. I've seen less petulant two year olds.