President Donald Trump has signalled support for a bipartisan healthcare deal in the US Senate, saying it was a short-term fix to get through a "very dangerous little period" but not the ultimate answer to US healthcare needs.
"The solution will be for about a year or two years," Trump told reporters at a joint news conference with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Tuesday. "It is a short-term solution so that we don't have this very dangerous little period."
Republican Senator Lamar Alexander said on Tuesday he had reached a deal with Democratic Senator Patty Murray to stabilise Obamacare, including reinstating federal subsidies that Trump jettisoned last week.
The proposal would extend the subsidies to insurers for two years and provide states with more flexibility to make changes to mandates in Obamacare, the 2010 healthcare law that extended medical insurance to millions of uninsured Americans
Alexander said the agreement would maintain protections for those with pre-existing conditions.
He added that the deal would be presented to Senate leaders but said he did not know if Republican leaders would bring the measure to the Senate floor for a vote.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who led earlier efforts this year to repeal and replace Obamacare, said he had not yet discussed the way forward for a bipartisan healthcare bill.
