Trump calls for 'special session' to address healthcare, repeal ACA

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa., Nov. 1 (UPI) -- Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump promised to convene a "special session" of Congress to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.

Speaking in Pennsylvania, Trump seized on an announcement last week by the Obama administration that premiums on the government-run health insurance exchanges will increase significantly. Trump told supporters in King of Prussia, Pa., outside Philadelphia, that their premiums will increase "more than 60 percent."

The Obama administration acknowledged the price increases as some private insurers back out of the exchanges due to low enrollment especially among younger, healthier Americans, though the government subsidies that help pay for the plans are increasing, as well.

Trump promised if he's elected he will "repeal and replace Obamacare." Trump has called for doing away with the bill and instead allowing insurers to compete over state lines, which he said will help drive down costs. He has also called for converting Medicaid into a bloc grant to states who can administer the program themselves and for the greater use of health savings accounts to allow Americans to address out-of-pocket costs for healthcare with tax-free savings that come out of their paychecks.

"I will ask Congress to convene a special session so we can repeal and replace," he continued. "And it will be such an honor for me, for you and for everybody in this country because Obamacare has to be replaced. And we will do it, and we will do it very, very quickly. It is a catastrophe."