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Trump Signals 'Insurance for Everybody' in Health Care Replacement

The president-elect said in an interview published Sunday night that he is close to being ready to announce a replacement for the Affordable Care Act.
Image: President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York on Jan. 11.
President-elect Donald Trump during a news conference Wednesday in New York.Evan Vucci / AP

President-elect Donald Trump said he is working on a replacement for the Affordable Care Act that would seek to provide "insurance for everybody," The Washington Post reported Sunday night.

Trump made the comments in a telephone interview late Saturday, The Post said. He gave no details of his replacement plan.

The Post reported that Trump also said he would force drug companies to negotiate directly with the government on prices of prescriptions covered under Medicare and Medicaid.

"They're politically protected but not anymore," he said, according to The Post.

Related: Obamacare: Five Things You May Not Know About the Health Care Law

Trump's comments were made a day after the House began the formal process of repealing the national insurance program known widely as Obamacare but before Sunday's rallies across the country to energize opponents of the repeal.

Republican leaders have said it would take weeks or even months to replace the program, which affects about one-sixth of the U.S. economy. But Trump said in the Post interview that he is close to being ready to announce his own replacement.

He warned Republicans that if the party drags its feet, he will use the power of the presidency — along with Twitter, his preferred channel to the American people.

"The Congress can't get cold feet because the people will not let that happen," Trump told The Post.