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Longtime Obamacare critic says Trump plan won’t solve program’s fatal flaws

Longtime Obamacare critic says Trump plan won’t solve program’s fatal flaws

The underlying problems with Obamacare will persist — even if Republicans tweak the way its subsidies work, said Avik Roy, a healthcare policy expert and one of Obamacare’s most vocal critics. In Roy’s view, Republican proposals to redirect financial assistance straight to policyholders instead of routing them directly to insurance companies would do little to drive costs down without broader reforms. “Imagine if there was agricultural regulation such that you couldn’t buy a steak for less than $300,” Roy said. “And then you said, ‘Oh, we’re going to solve that problem by giving everybody more food stamps so they can afford a sirloin at the grocery store.’”  “Would that solve the problem? Actually addressing the core root of why a steak costs $300 — wouldn’t you want to solve that problem first?”  OBAMACARE SUBSIDIES AT CENTER OF DEM SHUTDOWN FIGHT ‘FUEL’ HEALTHCARE COST INFLATION, CONSERVATIVES SAY Amid congressional divisions over what to do about expiring COVID-era financial assistance to Obamacare plans, some Republicans have floated providing those credits directly to policyholders through Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). By giving Obamacare users more say in how to spend that money, Republicans hope to introduce some competition and drive down costs in the long run. Congress greatly expanded subsidies for Obamacare in 2021, helping enrollees cover the costs of their health insurance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now that those subsidies are set to expire at the end of 2025, Democrats worry millions of Americans will find themselves facing significantly higher premiums overnight at the end of the year unless they’re continued in some way. Instead of abolishing them outright, President Donald Trump urged Republicans to adopt the direct-to-policyholder change through a post on Truth Social earlier this month.  “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. In other words, take from the BIG, BAD Insurance Companies, give it to the people,” Trump wrote. DEMOCRATS HOLD THE GOVERNMENT HOSTAGE OVER SUBSIDIES AMERICANS DON’T WANT Roy believes implementing Trump’s proposal would solve the short-term concerns about the expiring subsidies. “That would be an improvement. People need to be able to afford insurance. Those subsidies would help people buy insurance,” Roy said. “But you still haven’t solved the problem of why the insurance is expensive in the first place.”  Roy noted that in order to enact the idea, Congress will first have to change the legal structures around HSAs. “You’re not allowed to buy health insurance with your HSA. That’s not allowed. You can use them to pay for various healthcare products like prescription drugs at Walgreens or CVS, your copay at your primary care physician’s office, an X-ray or MRI. There’s literally a list of things that the IRS puts out every year of the things you’re allowed to spend your HSA dollars on,” Roy said. Although Roy supports making insurance purchases possible through HSAs, Roy believes that prices will remain high because Obamacare’s regulations stretch across the board, keeping most plans similarly priced. “Obamacare basically does not allow anybody to sell health insurance to individuals that does not conform to Obamacare’s regulatory requirements,” Roy said. HOUSE REPUBLICANS DIVIDED OVER OBAMACARE AS GOP EYES FIX AFTER SHUTDOWN Roy argued only bipartisan deregulation would help meaningfully lower costs in the future.   Open enrollment for the expanded Obamacare subsidies began on Nov. 1. The program’s current framework runs through Dec. 31, at which point financial assistance through the expanded tax credits will sunset.

Trump hails lower prices amid rising discontent over cost of living

Trump hails lower prices amid rising discontent over cost of living

US president defends economic policies as polls show growing angst among voters over prices. Published On 18 Nov 202518 Nov 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share United States President Donald Trump has defended his administration’s record on lowering prices as he faces growing discontent from Americans over the cost of living. In a speech to McDonald’s franchise owners and suppliers on Monday, Trump claimed credit for bringing inflation back to “normal” levels while pledging to bring price growth lower still. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list “We have it down to a low level, but we’re going to get it a little bit lower,” Trump said. “We want perfection.” Returning to his regular talking point that Democrats had mismanaged the economy, the Republican president blamed cost pressures on former US President Joe Biden and insisted Americans were “so damn lucky” he won the 2024 election. “Nobody has done what we’ve done in terms of pricing. We took over a mess,” Trump said. Trump, whose 2024 presidential campaign focused heavily on the cost of living, has struggled to win over Americans with his protectionist economic message amid persistent affordability concerns. In an NBC News poll released this month, 66 percent of respondents said Trump had fallen short of their expectations on affordability, while 63 percent answered the same for the economy in general. Voter angst over prices has been widely identified as a key reason Republicans suffered a shellacking in off-year elections held early this month in multiple states, including New Jersey and Virginia. Despite repeatedly playing down the effects of his tariffs on prices, Trump on Friday signed an executive order lowering duties on 200 food products, including beef, bananas, coffee and orange juice. Advertisement Trump has also floated tariff-funded $2,000 rebate cheques and the introduction of 50-year mortgages as part of a push to address affordability concerns. While inflation has markedly declined since hitting a four-decade high of 9.1 percent under Biden, it remains significantly above the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target. The inflation rate rose to 3 percent in October, the first time it hit the 3 percent mark since January, although many analysts had expected a higher figure due to Trump’s trade salvoes. Trump, who is well known for his love of McDonald’s, spent a considerable portion of Monday’s speech praising the fast-food chain and casting the company as emblematic of his economic agenda. “Together we are fighting for an economy where everybody can win, from the cashier starting her first job to a franchisee opening their first location to the young family in a drive-through line,” he said. Trump also offered “special thanks” to the fast-food giant for rolling out more affordable menu options, including the reintroduction of extra value meals, which were phased out in 2018 and are priced at $5 or $8. “We’re getting prices down for this country, and there’s no better leader or advocate than McDonald’s,” he said. Adblock test (Why?)

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,363

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,363

Here are the key events from day 1,363 of Russia’s war on Ukraine. By News Agencies Published On 18 Nov 202518 Nov 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Here is how things stand on Tuesday, November 18: Fighting A Russian missile strike on the eastern Ukrainian city of Balakliia killed three people and wounded 10, including three children, a regional military official in the Kharkiv region said on Telegram on Monday. At least two people were killed and three were injured in Russian shelling of the Nikopol district in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, Vladyslav Haivanenko, the acting head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration, wrote on Facebook. Russian troops captured three villages across three Ukrainian regions, the RIA news agency cited the Russian Ministry of Defence as saying on Monday. The villages are Hai in the Dnipropetrovsk region, Platonivka in the Donetsk region and Dvorichanske in the Kharkiv region. Russia’s air defence forces destroyed 36 Ukrainian drones overnight, RIA reported on Monday, citing the Defence Ministry’s daily data. A Russian attack on Ukraine’s southern region of Odesa sparked fires at energy and port infrastructure facilities, Ukraine’s emergency services said on Monday. The attack damaged port equipment and several civilian vessels, including one carrying liquefied natural gas, and forced Romania to evacuate a border village, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X. A 68-year-old man has died after he was injured in a Russian drone attack in Ukraine’s Kherson region, the head of the regional administration, Oleksandr Prokudin, wrote on Telegram. Two Ukrainian nuclear power plants have been running at reduced capacity for 10 days after a military attack damaged an electrical substation needed for nuclear safety, International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said in a statement. The Kremlin said on Monday that Russia’s port of Novorossiysk resumed export activities after a Ukrainian attack caused a two-day suspension of its oil loadings. A firefighter stands at the site of apartment buildings hit by Russian missile strikes in the town of Balakliia in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region on November 17, 2025 [Anatolii Stepanov/Reuters] Military aid Advertisement Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a deal with French President Emmanuel Macron at France’s Velizy-Villacoublay Air Base for Ukraine to obtain up to 100 French-made Rafale warplanes over the next 10 years. Macron said France’s rail transport manufacturer Alstom and Ukrainian Railways have signed a 475-million-euro ($551m) contract on delivering 55 electric locomotives to Ukraine, according to the Interfax news agency. Regional security Polish Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski said on Monday that one confirmed and one likely act of sabotage occurred on Polish railways after an explosion damaged a Polish railway track on a route to Ukraine over the weekend. Polish Special Services Minister Tomasz Siemoniak added during the same news conference that chances are very high that the people who conducted the sabotage were acting on orders of foreign intelligence services. He appeared to be pointing fingers at Russia although he did not name the country. Politics and diplomacy During a joint news conference in Paris, Macron said he was confident Zelenskyy could improve Ukraine’s anticorruption track record and institute reforms to clear its path to European Union membership. German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil told Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng during a state visit to Beijing on Monday that the two countries “should work together to finish the war in Ukraine” and “China can play a key role”. He responded by saying, “China will continue to play a constructive role in the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis.” The Kremlin said on Monday that there was an ongoing conversation about a possible prisoner-of-war exchange with Ukraine but declined to provide details. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Russia hoped for another summit between President Vladimir Putin and United States President Donald Trump soon. Peskov added that Moscow took a very negative view of a bill that Trump said Republicans in the US were working on that would impose sanctions on any country doing business with Russia. Russia’s financial watchdog added former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov and leading economist Sergei Guriev – both critics of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – to its list of “extremists and terrorists”, its website showed on Monday. Economy European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a letter to EU members on Monday that the bloc had three options or a combination of them to help Ukraine meet its financing needs: “Support … financed by member states via grants, a limited recourse loan funded by the union borrowing on the financial markets or a limited recourse loan linked to the cash balances of immobilised assets”. The Chevron oil company is studying options to buy international assets of sanctioned Russian oil firm Lukoil after the US Department of the Treasury gave clearance to potential buyers to talk to Lukoil about foreign assets, five sources familiar with the process told the Reuters news agency. Advertisement Adblock test (Why?)

Jake Paul to fight Anthony Joshua in heavyweight bout on December 19

Jake Paul to fight Anthony Joshua in heavyweight bout on December 19

The social media star will box former two-time unified world champion Joshua in an eight-round professional fight. By News Agencies Published On 18 Nov 202518 Nov 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul will fight former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in a professional bout on December 19. The heavyweight matchup, which will consist of eight three-minute rounds, will take place at Kaseya Center in Miami and will be streamed live on Netflix. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list It will be the toughest fight yet for the 28-year-old Paul, who has a 12-1 record (7 KOs) and last fought in June when he beat former middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr by unanimous decision. “This isn’t an AI simulation. This is Judgment Day,” Paul told Netflix. “A professional heavyweight fight against an elite world champion in his prime. “When I beat Anthony Joshua, every doubt disappears, and no one can deny me the opportunity to fight for a world title. To all my haters, this is what you wanted.” Joshua is a two-time unified heavyweight world champion and Olympic gold medallist, but the 36-year-old hasn’t fought since losing to Daniel Dubois in an IBF title fight in September 2024. “Jake or anyone can get this work,” Joshua said. “No mercy. I took some time out and I’m coming back with a mega show. It’s a big opportunity for me. “Whether you like it or not, I’m here to do massive numbers, have big fights and break every record whilst keeping cool, calm and collected … I’m about to break the internet over Jake Paul’s face.” Anthony Joshua celebrates after winning his fight against Otto Wallin at the Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on December 24, 2023 [Ahmed Yosri/Reuters] Adblock test (Why?)