The White House has thrown cold water on a suggestion by House Speaker John Boehner that changes to Obamacare, the president's signature healthcare overhaul, will be "on the table"as talks to avert the fiscal cliff continue.
An administration official told
The Huffington Post that there will be no talks on taxes and deficits that would include nixing parts of the Affordable Care Act, as the healthcare plan is called.
"And they know that, so it's counterproductive to even offer it," the aide added.
Boehner called for the healthcare law to be part of negotiations in an op-ed in The Cincinnati Enquirer on Wednesday. He has called for abolishing Obamacare in the past, holding some 33 votes in the last two years in an attempt to bar the law, Huffington Post reports.
One Senate Democratic leader suggested some cuts to Obamacare could be part of a grand agreement as part of fiscal negotiations but would not alter the reach of the law "in any meaningful way."
Boehner suggested after Obama was re-elected that "Obamacare was the law of the land," sounding like he and his party would not continue efforts to overturn it. But he has walked back those comments recently, suggesting the battle is not yet over.
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