Senate Republicans have negotiated their version of Trumpcare in near total secrecy, and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is insisting on a vote before the July 4th holiday.
Those subsidies are expected to be linked to recipients' income in the Senate bill, a "major improvement" from a measure approved last month by the US House of Representatives that tied them exclusively to age, Republican Senator Susan Collins of ME said.
Trump has irked some Republicans by arguing the Senate bill needs more funding and "heart", suggesting the House bill was not compassionate enough to people who rely on health care.
The bill will "ultimately transition away from Obamacare's collapsing system entirely, so more Americans won't be hurt", McConnell said Thursday on the Senate floor.
Although the Senate version of the bill will offer some slight modifications to soften the blow, such as keeping subsidies for individual coverage of low-income Americans, overall it looks similar and, in some respects, it is even tougher. Trump has been threatening to discontinue those payments, and some insurance companies have cited uncertainty over those funds as reasons why they are abandoning some markets and boosting premiums.
Democrats say Republican characterisations of Mr Obama's law as failing are wrong and add that the Republican plan would boot millions off coverage and leave others facing higher out-of-pocket costs.
As a budget reconciliation measure that is part of the 2017 federal budget process; the proposed law cannot be filibustered in the United States Senate and can pass with a simple majority, or 51 votes.
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One Republican senator said Thursday that many senators dislike parts of the bill, but will find it very hard to vote against it. For the past few weeks, the bill has been worked on nearly entirely in secret, after a draft of the bill passed through the House of Representatives. With no Democrats expected to support a repeal of the Affordable Care Act, McConnell can only afford to lose two votes for the measure to pass.
The Senate plan drops a requirement for individuals to have health insurance and eliminates taxes on the wealthy. Republicans will likely argues that the bill will give the American populace control over their own insurance, not forcing them to buy insurance if they do not want or need it.
Collins said she would weigh the CBO's upcoming assessment of the Senate bill's impact on costs and coverage.
The Senate bill more gradually reduces federal funds provided for Medicaid expansion, cutting it to the pre-ACA funding levels by 2024.
"I hope we are going to surprise you with a really good plan", Trump said in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
The Senate is expected to vote on the newly unveiled legislation to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as early as next week. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, that expansion brought health coverage to some 14 million people. Once Obamacare became law, Medicaid was expanded to allow anyone below 138 percent of the poverty line to opt into the government-sponsored health care. Other employer mandates would also be eliminated, as well as almost all of Obamacare's taxes.
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