Donald Trump wants to replace the Affordable Care Act with a system that includes universal coverage, Obamacare architect Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel told CNBC on Tuesday, describing impressions he received in a meeting with the president-elect last month.

"The one thing I really got from him, … as he said on the campaign trail, he does want to create a system that Americans can be proud of that has universal coverage, and he wants it to be bipartisan," Emanuel on "Squawk Box."

Republicans lawmakers were returning to Washington on Tuesday — emboldened by Trump's election victory and their continued majority on Capitol Hill — seeking to repeal and replace President Barack Obama's signature 2010 health-care law.



Despite expressing a sliver of optimism, Emanuel also described a "nightmarish scenario," arguing that repealing Obamacare and eliminating its funding would make it hard to implement a replacement.

The money would not be there to pay for "subsidies or refundable tax credits for people to buy insurance" under a new GOP system, said Emanuel, chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the University of Pennsylvania.

Emanuel spoke before Trump opened fire at Obamacare on Tuesday morning on Twitter.

People must remember that ObamaCare just doesn't work, and it is not affordable - 116% increases (Arizona). Bill Clinton called it "CRAZY"