Seven years ago today, Donald Trump told a room full of governors that “nobody knew” repealing affordable health care for their millions of constituents “could be so complicated.”
Trump tried, and failed, to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which at the time provided health coverage to nearly 27 million Americans. Trump is running for president on a promise to repeal the ACA in a second term, but he has no plan to ensure health care access isn’t taken away from the now more than 40 million Americans who benefit from the ACA.
“Trump tried pulling every lever he could to repeal affordable health care for millions. Trump supported repeals through Congress and the courts. When both of those options failed, Trump sought to chip away at affordable health care any way he could by undermining protections for people with pre-existing conditions, failing to lower the price of prescription drugs, and subjecting older Americans to more surprise medical billing. Nothing in Trump’s record suggests he’ll be a champion for affordable health care and we should believe him when he says he wants to give repealing the ACA another chance in a second term,” said American Bridge 21st Century Presidential Campaigns Communications Director Brandon Weathersby.
Donald Trump’s record proves access to affordable health care is at risk for over 40 million Americans in a second Trump presidency:
- Trump and his administration supported a lawsuit to overturn the entirety of the Affordable Care Act and its protections.
- Trump’s Department of Justice suggested the law be invalidated in the Republican states that sued over its constitutionality.
- Trump’s administration also argued the ACA was no longer constitutional under Congress’s taxing power as a result of a 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act provision that set the financial penalty at zero.
- Trump attempted to eliminate pre-existing condition protections included under the Affordable Care Act.
- Trump failed to lower prescription drug prices and backed away from drug pricing bargaining.
- An estimated 530,000 annual personal bankruptcies were tied to medical issues during the Trump administration.
- Trump issued a Medicare executive order that could have subjected more seniors to surprise bills.
Published: Feb 27, 2024