Despite a campaign in which he vowed to repeal the healthcare law he dubbed a “disaster,” President-elect Donald Trump now says he is willing to preserve some parts of the Affordable Care Act.
Trump and President Barack Obama discussed the subject during their meeting at the White House this week, Trump said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, saying Obama asked him to reconsider repealing his signature domestic achievement.
Trump told the publication that he might be willing to preserve at least two provisions--the ban on denying coverage to those with pre-existing conditions and the one that allows young adults to stay on a parent’s plan for additional years.
In our exclusive interview @realDonaldTrump hints at possible compromise after vows to repeal Affordable Care Act https://t.co/4dEUqKWPOz 🔓
— Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) November 11, 2016
House Speaker Paul Ryan’s proposed ACA replacement plan also suggests keeping those protections for consumers. Trump has also proposed converting Medicaid funding to block grants and selling insurance across state lines--although legal experts say the latter could be problematic.
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Trump said during his campaign that the healthcare law is “probably going to die of its own weight,” seizing on reports of higher premiums for ACA exchange benchmark plans as evidence of the ACA’s failure and promising to fix it.
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It was the meeting with Obama, Trump said, that led him to soften his position of seeking a full ACA repeal.
“I told him I will look at his suggestions, and out of respect, I will do that,” he told the publication. “Either Obamacare will be amended, or repealed and replaced.”
When asked if he thought his rhetoric had gone too far in the campaign, Donald Trump told WSJ: “No. I won.” https://t.co/LbVD3bnanE 🔓
— Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) November 11, 2016