Mulvaney: Nobody will lose health insurance
Klobuchar counters that people will be ‘kicked off ’ their health insurance
White House chief of staff guarantees coverage if courts strike down ACA
White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said Sunday that he could guarantee Americans would not lose their health insurance coverage if the Affordable Care Act was struck down in a court challenge.
On ABC’s “This Week,” Mulvaney was asked what would happen to the more than 60 million Americans with pre-existing conditions who are guaranteed coverage under the ACA – commonly referred to as Obamacare – and the millions of adults under 26 who are able to stay on their parents’ plans if the health care law was declared unconstitutional.
“Can you guarantee that if you succeed in court that all of those tens of millions of people who have health coverage guaranteed because of Obamacare will not lose their coverage?” host Jonathan Karl asked.
“Yes,” Mulvaney replied, declaring the “debate about pre-existing conditions is over.” He said every replacement plan for the ACA supported by the White House or Congress since President Donald Trump took office included protections for people with pre-existing conditions.
“Both parties support them, and anyone telling you anything different is lying to you for political gain. Pre-existing conditions are going to be covered,” Mulvaney said. “The debate becomes: How do you best do it?”
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., a 2020 presidential candidate, did not buy the guarantee. “The president’s Justice Department announced that they’re going to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which, contrary to what Mr. Mulvaney just said, means that people will be kicked off their insurance for pre-existing conditions,” Klobuchar said on “This Week.”
A study by the Urban Institute’s Health Policy Center estimated that as many as 19.9 million Americans could lose their coverage if the ACA is struck down.
In December, U.S. District Court Judge Reed O’Connor declared the entire ACA unconstitutional in a lawsuit brought by a coalition of Republicanled states. The law remains intact, pending a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in New Orleans.
The Justice Department said in June 2018 that the law should not be struck down in its entirety and that some aspects, such as Medicaid expansion, should be left in place.
Last week, the department changed its position and notified the federal appeals court that it wants the entire ACA thrown out.
Trump said Wednesday that if the law is struck down and that decision is upheld by the Supreme Court, “we will have a plan that is far better than Obamacare.”
Trump named Sen. Rick Scott, RFla., as one of the lawmakers tasked with coming up with an Obamacare alternative.
Scott said Sunday that because of a Democratic majority and “Nancy Pelosi in the House, it’s going to be tough to get something done.”
“Democrats constantly focus on access” when the “problem is the cost of health care is too high in this country,” Scott said during an interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”