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"It's going to take a little while to get there," Trump said

Washington (CNN) President Donald Trump appeared Monday to bask in the back-and-forth over a health care plan to replace Obamacare, describing the talks in businesslike terms.

"It's a big, fat, beautiful negotiation," Trump declared during the first meeting of his Cabinet at the White House. "Hopefully we'll come up with something that's going to be really terrific."

Earlier in the day, Trump appeared to lower expectations for an immediate drop in health insurance costs after a replacement bill is passed. He told a White House gathering of Americans who say they've been negatively affected by the Affordable Care Act that it could take several years before a drop in prices.

"More competition and less regulation will finally bring down the cost of care, and I think it will bring it down significantly. Unfortunately, it takes a while to get there because you have to let that marketplace kick in," Trump said.

"It's going to take a little while to get there," Trump added. "But once it does it's going to be a thing of beauty. I wish it didn't take a year or two years. But that's what's going to happen."

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