Politics

Trump transition: Even after Obamacare repeal, current plans will be grandfathered for 2 years

Rep. Collins: Obamacare's fate in hands of 'budget reconciliation'
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Rep. Collins: Obamacare's fate in hands of 'budget reconciliation'

The House is prepared to deliver on two of Donald Trump's campaign promises — repealing Obamacare and cutting taxes — within the first six months of his presidency, the congressional liaison for the transition team told CNBC on Wednesday.

Rep. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., said he expects to put a bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act on Trump's desk by the end of next month.

"We're going to [vote to] repeal it, much like we did six months ago. Obviously, we put it on Obama's desk. He vetoed that, fully expected. But this time, when it goes on President Trump's desk, he's indicated he's absolutely going to sign off," Collins said on "Squawk Box."

Vice President-elect Mike Pence on Wednesday is set to meet with Republicans on Capitol Hill to map out an Obamacare repeal strategy.

Meanwhile, President Barack Obama, also on Wednesday, plans to sit down with congressional Democrats to talk about ideas to combat the GOP effort.

The House is expected to begin the process of dismantling Obama's 2010 signature health-care law next week. The Senate put in motion the first repeal step on Tuesday, the first day of the new Congress.

"It's going to come down to what we call budget reconciliation. That's a financial nuance, in a way that we can pass a bill without needing any more than 51 votes in the Senate," Collins said. "Democrats are really helpless to do anything about it," given the Republican majorities in the House and Senate.

He acknowledged that replacing Obamacare could take a while, with consumers seeing little change this year and next.

"We're going to have to grandfather current plans in for probably two years," he said. "There's a lag time between when an insurance company can introduce a plan into a state, get it approved and roll it out."

Making good on Trump's push to cut taxes and reform the U.S. tax code, including corporate taxes, won't happen simultaneously with the Obamacare repeal, Collins said. "But it will be similar when we do what we would call the 2018 fiscal budget" in the April-March time frame.

The New York congressman, also a member of the Trump transition team executive committee, sees tax reform in the next six months or maybe even sooner.