President Donald Trump's White House staff have prepared an executive order that would weaken the requirement that all Americans have health insurance, The Washington Examiner reports.
Since the individual mandate cannot be repealed by Trump alone, the order would expand the "hardship exemption" to the requirement that taxpayers provide proof of insurance. However, Trump is reportedly holding off on the order in case Republicans in Congress can include a repeal of the mandate in their tax reform bill, an unnamed GOP senator told the Examiner.
"Pursuant to the President's January EO on Obamacare, we are always looking for ways to provide relief from Obamacare," an unnamed White House official told the Examiner. "The long-standing issues with the mandate would be best resolved legislatively."
Although the senator claimed the order is waiting for approval at the Office of Management and Budget, the White House official denied this.
House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., told Fox News on Sunday that the GOP bill could include a repeal of the individual mandate, but that no decision has been made.
"We have an active conversation with our members and a whole host of ideas on things to add to this bill," he said. "And that's one of the things that's being discussed."
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