Washington, D.C. – Today in Florida, President Trump vowed to continue his sabotage campaign against the Affordable Care Act, saying the GOP’s tax bill brought about “the end of Obamacare” and expressing his support for proposed association health plans, calling them ‘tremendous insurance.’ Protect Our Care Campaign Director Brad Woodhouse released the following statement in response:

“President Trump today continued his crusade against the Affordable Care Act and Americans’ health care. Trump’s war on our care already threatens millions of Americans’ insurance, is raising premiums by double-digits for millions more, and has seriously damaged the individual market – and in response, the President has decided to embrace junk insurance scams like association health plans, which have a history of fraud and have been condemned by experts across the country. The new junk plan regulation that Trump today pledged to finalize within months is likely illegal, and will certainly cause even more turmoil in the insurance markets just before next year’s rates are finalized. Plans that can deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions and refuse to cover key services like hospitalization are the exact opposite of ‘tremendous insurance,’ and they join a long list of Trump Administration actions set to cause tremendous rate hikes this fall.

“While President Trump may say that ‘nobody remembers’ the Senate health care repeal bill, the truth is that Americans have not forgotten that Republicans threatened our care. We remember that Republicans tried to put insurance companies back in control; we remember they tried to leave the one-in-four Americans with a pre-existing condition out in the cold; and we remember that Republicans ignored our voices while pushing the most unpopular legislation in decades. Standing up to the war on health care is Americans’ top priority at the polls this year. As the Trump Administration continues to attack our care through harmful regulations and Republicans in Congress plot Medicare and Medicaid cuts, Americans will keep remembering, and the President and his party are right to fear the consequences of their destructive actions.”

TRANSCRIPT:

PRESIDENT TRUMP: So we have the biggest tax cut in history, bigger than the Reagan tax cut, bigger than any tax cut. But what else? The individual mandate is gone. That’s on Obamacare, which is about the end of Obamacare. So we had Obamacare beat and one senator decided to go thumbs down. Do you remember that evening? No, nobody remembers. Thumbs down.



It’s all right, because Alex Acosta has come up and this is the plan that a lot of people have wanted for a long time, associations. And we’re going any tremendous sign-ups. Alex, when is that going to be ready where people can start signing and doing it in groups and through cooperatives, et cetera?



LABOR SECRETARY ACOSTA: That’s right, Mr. President, we hope to have that by this summer.

PRESIDENT TRUMP: It’s going to be incredible, you’re going to get tremendous insurance at a very low cost.