Dive Brief:
- Republican presidential nominee and real estate mogul Donald Trump pressed his case against the ACA during a campaign stop Tuesday in Pennsylvania, promising that if he wins the upcoming election he will call for a Congressional special session to promptly repeal and replace the controversial healthcare law.
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The message continued to drive home Trump's message on healthcare reform but also continued to leave questions around how he would repeal the ACA and replace it with his proposal in which individuals would be able to purchase health plans across state lines.
- A special session would be entirely unnecessary given that Congress will already be in session when the next president takes office given that Congress reconvenes Jan. 3 every year and each presidential inauguration takes place Jan. 20, in accordance with the 20th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Dive Insight:
Trump's call for a special session when Congress will already be in session brings additional questions from critics around Trump's planning and understanding of government processes. His choices of words in matters around repealing the ACA have previously raised debate over his understanding of what that would really mean and how his inexact language may add to misunderstandings of key issues among voters.
When it comes to Congressional special sessions, they have only been exercised a few times in U.S. history, with the last being in 1948. Trump told reporters he had not yet spoken to Congressional leaders about his interest in a special session.
Apart from that point, Trump's latest speech continued to hammer Hillary Clinton's opposing healthcare proposals while talking up conservative ideas including tax-free health savings accounts, and block-granting Medicaid for states. Trump also continued to stand out among Republicans in his push to allow cheaper drugs from abroad.
The Republican push against the ACA has been fueled by the October news of an average 25% increase in marketplace plan premiums and reduction in marketplace competition.