Donald Trump on Obamacare: GOP Health Care Bill 'Guarantees' Coverage for Pre-existing Conditions
President Donald Trump assures the public that the Republican plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act guarantees medical care coverage for Americans with pre-existing conditions, as House GOP leaders try to pass the measure as early as this week.
In an interview with CBS's John Dickerson on "Face the Nation" on Sunday, April 30, the President said, "Pre-existing conditions are in the bill. And I mandate it. I said, 'Has to be.'"
Trump also said that "we actually have a clause that guarantees" coverage for those with pre-existing conditions. He also mentioned that the healthcare legislation is "changing."
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According to CNN, the President's comments about the new healthcare bill come days after moderate New Jersey Rep. Tom MacArthur and leaders of the conservative House Freedom Caucus managed to cut a deal that would mandate insurers to cover those with pre-existing conditions.
However, unlike the policy under Obamacare, insurers in the new bill could be allowed by states to deny coverage to people who have high pre-existing conditions, as long as that state sets up "high-risk pools" that would provide coverage to people who are in poor health but cannot get traditional insurance.
According to the American Medical Association, the problem with this new setup is that it puts those insured with pre-existing conditions in a tough spot, where they are charged with higher premium rates if they allow their coverage to lapse. This change could mean that those with pre-existing conditions, such as diabetes and asthma, who are unable to pay for the higher premiums may risk losing their healthcare coverage altogether.
In an interview on "Meet the Press," Vice President Mike Pence explained how the Trump administration will be able to keep its "promise to protect people who have pre-existing conditions."
"You take people that have pre-existing and costly conditions and put them into a high-risk pool," Pence told NBC's Chuck Todd. "And you subsidize that so that it is affordable to those individuals. And so, you're guaranteeing coverage for pre-existing conditions."
"And the flexibility that you're referring to in this latest MacArthur amendment, states can only apply for that waiver and flexibility if they have either a federal or state high-risk pool that guarantees that people will be able to have coverage, and it'll be affordable," he added.
