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A senior White House aide said on Thursday that U.S. President Donald Trump would demand steps toward repealing Obamacare in any healthcare legislation, comments that cast doubt on the prospects for a short-term bill to shore up insurance markets. Marc Short, the White House's top liaison to Congress, said on CNN that Obamacare's mandates and taxes would have to be rolled back and consumers be allowed to more heavily invest in health-savings accounts for Trump to sign off on any congressional deal. (Cowan and Abutaleb, 10/19)

“We are certain that it can be improved,” Mr. Alexander said on the Senate floor Thursday. But the White House made clear Thursday that Mr. Trump was seeking more than minor tweaks to the legislation, which would shore up the ACA’s individual insurance markets by extending for two years federal payments known as “cost-sharing reductions” that help insurers offset subsidies they provide to some low-income consumers, while giving states greater say in how the law is implemented. In order for Mr. Trump to support such legislation, it must provide relief from the ACA’s requirement that most people have health coverage or pay a penalty, the spokesman said Thursday. (Armour and Peterson, 10/19)

A package "must provide immediate benefits to American families," a White House aide said, such as relief from the 2010 health care law's individual and employer mandates, a request pushed by the conservative group Freedom Partners. In addition, the White House is pushing for state regulators to be able to approve more types of coverage options, such as the short-term, limited duration insurance plans encouraged in the executive order signed by President Donald Trump last week. (McIntire, 10/19)

“I respect very much the two senators your talking about, I love that they’re working on it,” Trump said at the White House Thursday when asked about his position on the bill. Shortly after Trump’s comments, Tennessee Republican Lamar Alexander and Washington Democrat Patty Murray introduced their stabilization bill with 22 senators, half of whom are Republicans. That broad backing could give the package momentum in the Senate. (Edney and Sink, 10/19)

The requested changes emphasize that the White House could be a long way off from supporting the deal. Republican lawmakers say White House support is crucial for the passage of health-care legislation. (Sullivan, 10/18)

Key Senate Republicans are urgently trying to get President Donald Trump to reconsider his apparent opposition to a bipartisan deal shoring up health insurance markets, several senators said Thursday morning. Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, who negotiated the deal with Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, both spoke to the president about it on Wednesday evening. (Everett and Haberkorn, 10/19)