Pelosi cites 'progress' made on Obamacare funding dispute

That's a reversal for President Donald Trump who had threatened to withhold the money. "That's not in an appropriation bill".

The debate over a new spending bill focuses on an esoteric issue affecting the Affordable Care Act. "And I would not, if I were President Trump, be told by the Democrats you've got to keep making payments that are of questionable legality".

House Democratic Caucus chairman Rep. Joe Crowley, D-N.Y., had stopped short of saying the lack of subsidies would be a deal breaker, but others had warned it could be problematic.

This website endorsed Trump (twice) - and applauded many of his early moves in office. Dent calls it "an exercise in blame-shifting".

The top House Democrat is accusing the Trump administration of "cruelly threatening to raise health premiums" for millions as a disagreement about payments to insurers under the health care law jolted talks on a bill to keep the government open.

But amid House Republican indecision about health care reform overall and the messy process of keeping the federal government from shutting down despite GOP control of Congress and the White House, Mulvaney's and Ryan's statements indicate that threat could become a reality soon.

Trump's budget director, Mick Mulvaney, said in a statement that Democrats' demands for a fix amount to a "bailout" and were holding up a deal to fund the government past Friday.

The subsidies help low-income people pay for their out-of-pocket healthcare costs.

In addition to Democrats in Congress who support the ACA, influential health-related groups are urging lawmakers to fund the cost-sharing reductions. However, the way the law is written means that insurers must discount those items for people at the low end of the income scale whether or not they are receiving the money to cover it from the federal government.

Three sources said the administration was spreading the word across the Capitol that it would continue to provide payments to help millions of Americans to afford health insurance.

While the endorsement is a boost for the effort, some 50 moderate Republicans are still uncertain or oppose to the latest plan.

The proposed changes would let states get federal waivers to some coverage requirements Obama's law imposed on insurers, such as providing basic services such as maternity and newborn care, and preventive and wellness visits. "What I think should happen - and will happen - is the Democrats will start calling me and negotiating".

Pelosi is insisting that the cost-sharing payments be addressed in the legislation.

But for now, Trump and Mulvaney have blinked. The payments are estimated at $7 billion this year, and $10 billion in 2018.

West Virginia Republican Sen. "We've now made progress on both of these fronts", House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said.

In an earlier post on Trump's decision to abandon funding for the wall, we noted "Democrats in Washington simply can not be negotiated with ... which is why Trump's team should immediately insert funding for the border wall back into the spending deal (from whence it should have never been removed in the first place)".

Republicans are likely to need Democratic help to get the short-term spending bill passed, as many conservatives have traditionally declined to vote for similar spending measures. "I don't want people to get hurt", he said.

House Speaker Paul Ryan said Wednesday that "obviously" funds for the cost-sharing subsidies won't be included in the spending bill, because those payments are shouldered by the executive branch. But an influential GOP House moderate is opposing the proposal, leaving party leaders to assess whether the idea could help one of President Donald Trump's premier but most problematic priorities spring back to life. Under the leadership of former Speaker of the House John Boehner in 2014, Republicans sued the Obama administration, claiming it was illegally reimbursing marketplace insurers.