On Open Enrollment Day, Trump Floats Axing Obamacare’s Individual Mandate

US President Donald Trump delivers remarks as he welcomes Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore to the Oval Office before a series of meetings between the two at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 23 Octob... US President Donald Trump delivers remarks as he welcomes Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong of Singapore to the Oval Office before a series of meetings between the two at the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 23 October 2017. The meeting comes less than two weeks before President Trump makes an extended trip to the Asia-Pacific region. Credit: Shawn Thew / Pool via CNP - NO'WIRE'SERVICE - Photo by: Shawn Thew/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images MORE LESS
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President Donald Trump on Wednesday morning suggested using the tax reform bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate, echoing comments Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) made earlier this week.

A spokesperson for Cotton confirmed to TPM that the senator spoke with Trump about the proposal over the weekend and that Trump indicated support for the measure.

Cotton told reporters Monday night that he is leading a push to use the tax bill to nix the individual mandate, working with the House and Senate committees leading the process. The senator said that several lawmakers are supportive of the provision.

The senator claimed that repealing the individual mandate would save the federal government $300 billion over 10 years without causing any Americans to lose their health insurance. As TPM has pointed out, the Congressional Budget Office found in 2011 that nixing the individual mandate would save the government money because fewer people would purchase health insurance. Healthy people would leave the insurance market, causing premiums to rise and leaving insurance coverage unaffordable for sicker Americans, that same report found.

Trump published the tweets on nixing the individual mandate on the first day of open enrollment during his presidency. The administration plans to promote open enrollment by sending notices and text messages encouraging people to enroll or re-enroll and staffing call centers at the same level the government did last year. However, the administration has axed partnerships with outside groups to promote open enrollment and has made significant cuts to the Health and Human Services’ overall budget for Obamacare promotion and education.

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