Direct payment to buy health insurance? What President Trump said about ObamaCare amid government shutdown

President Donald Trump on Truth Social slammed ObamaCare and recommended that money be sent directly to the people.

Updated on: Nov 9, 2025, 05:47:15 IST

By Shuvrajit Das Biswas

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President Donald Trump, on Saturday, recommended that money be sent directly to people so they can buy their own health insurance. At the same time, he blasted ObamaCare or the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA).

President Donald Trump previously touted direct payments to US taxpayers in other areas as well. (Bloomberg)

Taking to Truth Social, Trump stated “I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars currently being sent to money sucking Insurance Companies in order to save the bad Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE, and have money left over.”

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He added that money would be taken from ‘BIG, BAD Insurance Companies’ and given to the people. Further, the president called on Senate Republicans to ‘terminate, per Dollar spent, the worst Healthcare anywhere in the World, ObamaCare.’ The POTUS continued that on an unrelated note they must also ‘terminate the filibuster’.

Notably, Trump's remark comes amid the ongoing government shutdown. Democrats want a funding bill to include healthcare subsidies that are due to expire for 24 million Americans at year's end, but Trump's fellow Republicans say Congress must first pass a funding bill without strings attached and allow the government to reopen before tackling other issues.

Trump's recent idea has already found support from Republican Senators James Lankford of Oklahoma and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.

Will Americans get direct payment for health insurance?

Despite President Trump's suggestion, a proposal for direct payment to people has to be cleared by the House of Representatives and the Senate in order for it to become federal law. Thus, for now, there will be no direct payments to people for health insurance.

Notably, ACA marketplaces allow people to buy policies directly from health insurers. They mainly serve people who do not have coverage through employers or the Medicare and Medicaid programs of the government.

Trump previously touted direct payments to US taxpayers in other areas as well, including sending money as part of the Covid relief package.

(With Reuters inputs)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shuvrajit Das Biswas
Shuvrajit has over seven years of experience covering US, India, and world news. An English Literature postgraduate from Jadavpur University, Shuvrajit started off covering entertainment, gaming and all things pop culture. There were brief periods away from the media industry, with short stints in content marketing, ed-tech and academic editing. However, the newsroom beckoned and over the last few jobs, Shuvrajit has exceedingly focused on team functioning as well, including tracking news and assigning tasks, working on everyday breaking news, framing detailed coverage plans, and creating immersive and data-driven stories. In his time as a digital journalist, he has covered a Lok Sabha election, multiple state elections, Union Budgets and award ceremonies. He has also helped in planning content for company event panels in the past. For work, Shuvrajit enjoys dabbling with data visualization, editing tools, and AI chatbots and attempts to incorporate AI workflows in everyday tasks. He is deeply interested in geopolitics, sports, films and music. Prompting is a new fascination for Shuvrajit now. Apart from that, he can be found doom-scrolling, sharing memes, or cheering on his favorite football team.Read More

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