During an interview with the Wall Street Journal, President-elect Donald Trump said he favors keeping the ObamaCare provisions which prohibit insurers from denying coverage because of existing conditions and which allows parents to provide additional years of coverage for children on their insurance policies. ‘I like those very much,’ Mr. Trump said.
Some have taken this to be an indication that Trump is backing away from his pledged to repeal ObamaCare.
Trump’s Contract With the American Voter his plan for the first hundred days of his presidency, includes introducing the Repeal and Replace Obamacare Act, which fully repeals ObamaCare and replaces it.
But Trump told the WSJ that one of his priorities was moving “quickly” on ObamaCare, which Trump said has become so unworkable and expensive that “you can’t use it.”
According to the WSJ, Trump said a big reason for his shift from his call for an all-out repeal was the meeting with President Obama, who, he said, suggested areas of the Affordable Care Act, widely known as ObamaCare, to preserve. “I told him I will look at his suggestions, and out of respect, I will do that,” Mr. Trump said in his Trump Tower office. “Either ObamaCare will be amended, or repealed and replaced,” Mr. Trump said.
In a preview of Trump’s interview to be broadcast Sunday on “60 Minutes,” CBS reports that Trump said very similar statements about what might be kept From ObamaCare as those he said during the WSJ interview.
In addition, Trump said there will be no lapse between the repeal of ObamaCare and its replacement:
There won’t be “a two day period” or “a two year period where there’s nothing. It will be repealed and replaced.
According to CBS, the ObamaCare provisions Trump will consider keeping — pre-existing conditions and keeping children on their parents’ policies — have been included in proposals that would replace ObamaCare. House Speaker Paul Ryan’s “Better Way” healthcare plan, for example, would also prevent insurance companies form denying coverage to those with existing conditions and would keep the parental provision.
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