Trump: Obamacare key provisions to remain

US President-elect Donald Trump has said he is open to leaving intact key parts of President Barack Obama’s healthcare bill.

Mr Trump, who has pledged to repeal the 2010 law, said he will keep the ban on insurers denying coverage for pre-existing conditions.

He told the Wall Street Journal that he also favoured allowing young adults to be insured on their parents’ policies.

“I like those very much,” Mr Trump said of the two pillars of the bill.

It was his meeting with Mr Obama on Thursday that had made him reconsider his calls for an all-out replacement of the Affordable Care Act, he told the newspaper.

Asked whether he would implement a campaign promise to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate his defeated Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton over her use of a private email server while secretary of state, Mr Trump said: “It’s not something I’ve given a lot of thought, because I want to solve healthcare, jobs, border control, tax reform.”

Meanwhile, protesters angered by Mr Trump’s election gathered in several US cities for a third night on Friday. Thousands took to the streets of Miami, Atlanta, Philadelphia, New York, San Francisco and Portland, Oregon, voicing anger at the president-elect’s comments about immigrants, Muslims and women.

Police in Portland are investigating the shooting and wounding of a protester on a bridge where anti-Trump demonstrators were marching. Officers had earlier used stun grenades to disperse a crowd of hundreds of people in the city centre.

In a separate interview with CBS, Mr Trump said the parts of Mr Obama’s healthcare bill he was “going to try to keep” were “the strongest assets”.

He said that while the bill would be repealed and replaced, the changes would provide Americans with “great healthcare for much less money”.

He made the statement during an interview with the 60 Minutes programme, which is due to air on Sunday.

Also on Friday Mr Trump put Vice-President-elect Mike Pence in charge of his transition team, replacing New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.
Source: BBC