Pro-Obamacare groups call on House Democrats to halt Trump Obamacare ‘sabotage’

Obamacare advocacy groups are calling for House Democrats to roll back Trump administration policies they deem acts of “sabotage” of the healthcare law. The groups Health Care Voter and Protect Our Care said Wednesday that the incoming Democratic majority should use its new investigative powers to hold the Trump administration accountable for changes to the law and should restore funding for ads for Obamacare enrollment that Trump cut.

They also want changes to how open enrollment is run. “[Health and Human Services] should run open enrollment the way it was intended to be run with a heavy amount of advertising and outreach,” said Brad Woodhouse, executive director of Protect Our Care, on a call with reporters on Wednesday.

The groups also want heavy oversight of HHS’ implementation of Obamacare. “I think that there is an opportunity to look at ways we can help the administration to stay within the boundaries to keep from undermining state’s implementation of the [Affordable Care Act] and Medicaid expansion,” said Donna Edwards, a former Maryland congresswoman who is a co-chair of Health Care Voter.

The administration has made several changes to Obamacare open enrollment that advocates of the law say are meant to undermine the law. For instance, the administration devoted $10 million to advertisements for the 2019 open enrollment period that started on Nov. 1 and runs until Dec. 15. The administration gave the same amount for the 2018 open enrollment that took place late last year. The figure is a 90 percent cut from the $100 million for the 2017 open enrollment that took place at the tail end of the Obama administration.

The administration also cut the time to sign up for Obamacare in half. Prior Obamacare open enrollment periods lasted until the end of January but now only go until Dec. 15 under the Trump administration. The administration charges that the changes have made Obamacare open enrollment more cost effective, and that more funding for ads and outreach is not needed since the law is in its sixth open enrollment and already well known.

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/healthcare/pro-obamacare-groups-call-on-house-democrats-to-halt-trump-obamacare-sabotage

Jeff Sessions resigns as attorney general

Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the first sitting senator to endorse Donald Trump for president, is no longer in charge of the Department of Justice. Sessions submitted his resignation in a letter to White House Chief of Staff John Kelly on Wednesday afternoon. Sessions' resignation letter was delivered by hand to the White House after it was requested by President Trump earlier Wednesday.

In the letter, Sessions ticked off a list of accomplishments. "Most importantly as my time as attorney general, we have restored and upheld the rule of law," Sessions wrote. "Thank you for the opportunity, Mr. President," Sessions said in his closing.

Sessions’ departure from the Trump administration comes after more than a year and a half of public beratings from the president, who continually put the blame on him for special counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing investigation into Russian election interference. When asked earlier about Sessions' job security at a press conference Wednesday, Trump said he would rather answer the question later. One of Trump's most recent attacks came in an interview with Fox News, when he said Sessions “never took control of the Justice Department.”

https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/jeff-sessions-resigns-as-attorney-general