Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore., said Thursday he supports coverage of pre-existing conditions, one week after President Trump's Justice Department supported a lawsuit that would gut those protections.

The lawsuit argued that since Obamacare’s individual mandate will be repealed starting in 2019, other elements of the law should also go away. These include protections that require insurers to not charge sicker people more money or deny someone coverage based on a pre-existing condition.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman — speaking at the Washington Examiner’s “Examining Opioids” event on Thursday in Washington — didn’t take a position on the lawsuit. But he made it clear he supports coverage of pre-existing conditions.

"I don’t want to go back to the days when you can be denied insurance based on a pre-existing condition," Walden said. “I will make sure that people with pre-existing conditions can continue to get access to health insurance."

A major point of debate over efforts to repeal Obamacare was coverage for pre-existing conditions. While the repeal bill that passed the House in May 2017 left in the requirement insurers cover people with pre-existing conditions, it included a waiver that states could get that would let insurers charge people with pre-existing conditions higher premiums based on their health history.

Experts and advocates claim that while people with pre-existing conditions could get insurance, it would be inaccessible due to a high price.

The House’s Obamacare repeal bill that passed in May 2017 included money for creating a high-risk pool for states, but Democrats and critics say that the money was not enough.