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Alex Wong/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — One week after his administration sided with a court ruling arguing for repeal of the entirety of the Affordable Care Act, President Donald Trump said Republicans should wait to vote on a plan to repeal and replace President Barack Obama’s signature legislative achievement until after the 2020 election.
“The Republicans are developing a really great HealthCare Plan with far lower premiums (cost) & deductibles than ObamaCare,” Trump tweeted Monday evening. “Vote will be taken right after the Election when Republicans hold the Senate & win back the House. It will be truly great HealthCare that will work for America.”
Everybody agrees that ObamaCare doesn’t work. Premiums & deductibles are far too high – Really bad HealthCare! Even the Dems want to replace it, but with Medicare for all, which would cause 180 million Americans to lose their beloved private health insurance. The Republicans…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 2, 2019
….are developing a really great HealthCare Plan with far lower premiums (cost) & deductibles than ObamaCare. In other words it will be far less expensive & much more usable than ObamaCare. Vote will be taken right after the Election when Republicans hold the Senate & win……
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 2, 2019
….back the House. It will be truly great HealthCare that will work for America. Also, Republicans will always support Pre-Existing Conditions. The Republican Party will be known as the Party of Great HealtCare. Meantime, the USA is doing better than ever & is respected again!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 2, 2019
The announcement appeared to shift the goalposts after the president spent a week rallying Republicans to make health care a signature issue in their 2020 campaigns.
Democrats largely credit health care as the issue that paved the way for their gains in the 2018 midterms that led to the party retaking the House of Representatives.
At Trump’s urging, the Department of Justice just one week ago weighed in on an ongoing court fight potentially imperiling the Affordable Care Act, siding with a conservative judge’s ruling that the entire law should be struck down as unconstitutional. That lawsuit could reach the Supreme Court as early as 2020.
Several Republicans raised concerns over the administration’s new position, noting there would be no replacement that would protect the millions currently receiving coverage under the Affordable Care Act. Though the White House insisted a plan was already in the works and Trump repeatedly pledged, “The Republican Party will become “The Party of Healthcare!”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have appeared to welcome the president’s re-focus on health care, and are scheduled to hold a news conference Tuesday morning before an expected House vote on a non-binding resolution that condemns the Trump administration’s support of the ACA lawsuit.
According to ABC News’ exit polls from last November’s midterms, 41 percent identified health care as the primary issue that drove them to the polls, with voters trusting Democrats 57-35 percent over Republicans in handling of protections for pre-existing conditions.
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