Trump falsely claims that Obamacare covers ‘very few people’

President Donald Trump falsely claimed on Friday that the health care law known as Obamacare “covers very few people.”

Trump, delivering a speech at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland, was sharply critical of the Affordable Care Act, which he repeatedly pledged to “repeal and replace” as a candidate.


Former President Barack Obama’s signature legislative achievement has come under fire in the wake of premium increases. And more recently, instability in the exchange market has prompted some insurers to consider pulling out. One major company, Humana, announced earlier this month that it intends to leave the state marketplaces in 2018.

Trump’s claim that “very few people” are covered under the law, though, is incorrect. An estimated 20 million people have gained coverage through it (PolitiFact notes many of those people, likely a majority, are covered through the law’s expansion of Medicaid).

Republicans are currently debating what legislation they might put in its place, if they do indeed repeal it. They have run into resistance to their plans in part because so many people depend on the law for their insurance.

Inside look at CPAC 2017