Former President Barack Obama pushed back against claims by Republican legislators and by the Trump administration that the bill was in a “death spiral” or was taking jobs away. | Getty As repeal vote nears, Obama pleads to preserve Affordable Care Act

Former President Barack Obama, who has remained on the sidelines for much of the contentious debate surrounding the Trump administration’s plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, urged lawmakers Thursday to preserve and build on his signature legislative achievement.

The lengthy statement, released on the seventh anniversary of the passage of the bill — and on the same day that House members are set to vote on its repeal — celebrated the merits of Obamacare and described the legislation as a watershed moment in determining that health care is “not just a privilege for a few, but a right for everybody.”


Obama also pushed back on claims by Republican legislators and by the Trump administration that the law is in a “death spiral” or is taking jobs away.

“[R]eality continues to discredit the false claim that this law is in a ‘death spiral,’ because while it's true that some premiums have risen, the vast majority of Marketplace enrollees have experienced no average premium hike at all,” he wrote. “And so long as the law is properly administered, this market will remain stable. Likewise, this law is no ‘job-killer,’ because America’s businesses went on a record-breaking streak of job growth in the seven years since I signed it.”

Obama urged lawmakers to “build on this law” in the way that Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid have been built upon.

“[I]f Republicans are serious about lowering costs while expanding coverage to those who need it, and if they’re prepared to work with Democrats and objective evaluators in finding solutions that accomplish those goals — that’s something we all should welcome,” he wrote. “But we should start from the baseline that any changes will make our health care system better, not worse for hardworking Americans.”

“The Affordable Care Act is law only because millions of Americans mobilized, and organized, and decided that this fight was about more than health care — it was about the character of our country,” Obama added. “It was about whether the wealthiest nation on Earth would make sure that neither illness nor twist of fate would rob us of everything we’ve worked so hard to build. It was about whether we look out for one another, as neighbors, and fellow citizens, who care about each other’s success. This fight is still about all that today.”

Republican in-fighting over Trump’s health care replacement, the American Health Care Act, has threatened the chances that the GOP bill will make it through the House in a vote scheduled for Thursday.

