USA TODAY International Edition
3 health promises Trump made that he can’t keep
Legislation moving through Congress falls short of his vows
President Trump attacked Democrats for their opposition to the Senate bill to repeal and replace Obamacare in a Saturday morning tweet.
“Democrats slam GOP healthcare proposal as Obamacare premiums & deductibles increase by over 100%. Remember keep your doctor, keep your plan?” Trump tweeted.
Trump is referring to the promise that the Obama administration repeatedly made before the passage of the Affordable Care Act that “if you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan.” That turned out to be false, and Republicans often point to the promise as an example of Obamacare not working.
But Trump has also made some assurances of his own that could not happen.
Here are three promises Trump made that will not come true under the current bills moving through Congress:
‘ EVERYBODY’S GOT TO BE COVERED’
“Everybody’s got to be covered. This is an un- Republican thing for me to say,” Trump told CBS News in 2015 during the presidential campaign. “I am going to take care of everybody. I don’t care if it costs me votes or not. Everybody’s going to be taken care of much better than they’re taken care of now.”
While an analysis of the Senate bill is expected next week from the non- partisan Congressional Budget Office, a review of the leg- islation that already passed the House estimates 23 million people would be without insurance by 2026. Trump originally celebrated that bill when it passed but later was reported to have called it “mean” in a private meeting with GOP senators.
‘ NO CUTS’ TO MEDICAID
Trump has repeatedly promised there would be no cuts to the joint federal- state program that provides health insurance for the poor, disabled and elderly. Under Obamacare, states were given the option of expanding their Medicaid programs, and 31 states and Washington, D. C., accepted. Some of those had Republican governors.
During the Republican primary process, Trump repeatedly attacked his opponents for their stance on Medicaid and other government programs.
“I was the first & only potential GOP candidate to state there will be no cuts to Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid. Huckabee copied me,” Trump tweeted May 7, 2015.
He followed it up July 11, 2015, by tweeting, “Republicans who want to cut SS & Medicaid are wrong.” And on Oct. 31, 2015, candidate Trump said: “I am going to save Medicare and Medicaid.”
Both the House and Senate want to stop expansion of the program, though they go about it in slightly different ways. The House bill would cut the program cold turkey in 2020. The Senate bill would give a three- year phase- out. Regardless of the rate at which it is done, Medicaid will be cut if either of these bills becomes law.
During a briefing with reporters Friday, White House press secretary Sean Spicer incorrectly said Trump is “committed to making sure that no one who currently is in the Medicaid program is affected in any way, which is reflected in the Senate bill.”
That’s false. Medicaid will still be cut under the Senate bill, just at a slower rate than the House bill.
‘ EVERY BIT AS GOOD ON PRE- EXISTING CONDITIONS AS OBAMACARE’
In an interview with Bloomberg in May — just days before the House passed its version of an Obamacare repeal bill — Trump said the legislation would be “every bit as good on pre- existing conditions as Obamacare.”
Obamacare said no one can be denied coverage or charged more for pre- existing conditions.
Both the House and Senate bills require that insurance companies offer coverage, but plans can charge more for people with pre- existing conditions in the House bill. That bill sets aside a pool of money in the hopes of offsetting the costs. The Senate bill makes it easier for states to waive requirements that insurance plans cover specific benefits, so certain plans might not cover certain treatments.