Washington, DC — Today in Charlotte, North Carolina, President Trump plans to unveil a series of executive orders that he thinks will be health care “wins” for his administration and campaign ahead of Election Day. Trump is specifically trying to rewrite his disastrous record on pre-existing conditions, when, in reality, he has eroded these protections “at every turn.” These executive orders come as his lawsuit to overturn the Affordable Care Act is poised to rip health care away from 23 million Americans, erase protections for pre-existing conditions for 135 million Americans and throw our entire health care system into chaos. Protect Our Care Executive Director Brad Woodhouse issued the following statement in response:
“President Trump’s latest do-nothing executive orders are just another attempt to hide his disastrous record on health care ahead of the most important health care election in American history. While 135 million Americans with pre-existing conditions are currently protected by the Affordable Care Act, President Trump has done everything in his power to terminate those protections and one week after the election, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in his lawsuit to fully destroy the health care law. These executive orders will be seen for what they truly are — another Trump scam that won’t lower drug prices, won’t protect Americans with pre-existing conditions and won’t deliver on any of his health care promises.”
COVERAGE:
Washington Post: Trump Looks for Ways to Win Over Voters on Health Care After Failing to Deliver on Promises. “President Trump is pushing advisers to deliver health-care ‘wins’ in the final weeks of the campaign, leading to a frenzied rollout of proposals as polls show the president’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic and health-care policy are two of his biggest vulnerabilities in his reelection bid… Despite making lowering drug prices and repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act key planks of his 2016 election bid, Trump has struggled to deliver on many of his health-care promises in his first term. He trails Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden in polls on health-care issues.” [Washington Post, 9/23/20]
- Washington Post: “Experts Have Said Such An Executive Order Would Amount to Little More Than A Public Relations Ploy.” “Experts have said such an executive order would amount to little more than a public relations ploy, and the order is not viewed as a substantive policy proposal among many West Wing advisers.” [Washington Post, 9/23/20]
New York Times: Trump Says He Will ‘Always’ Protect Those with Pre-Existing Conditions. He Hasn’t. “This provision has long been one of the Affordable Care Act’s most popular features. Even when a majority of Americans disliked the law over all, most supported this part of it. Over time, as Obamacare has become more popular and more embattled, pre-existing-condition protections have become so popular that any politician who declines to support them is likely to pay a political price. In 2018, Democrats retook control of the House of Representatives, after campaigning heavily on pre-existing conditions as an issue…That popularity probably explains why President Trump keeps repeating the words ‘pre-existing conditions.’ But saying that he will support these rules doesn’t make it true.” [New York Times, 9/24/20]
- New York Times: “Rather Than Enshrine the Ability of Americans with Health Problems to Buy Insurance, the Trump Administration Has, at Every Turn, Pursued Policies That Have Tended to Do the Opposite.” “But rather than enshrine the ability of Americans with health problems to buy insurance, the Trump administration has, at every turn, pursued policies that have tended to do the opposite. Some of the efforts to weaken protections have been successful — like an expansion of cheap, lightly regulated health plans that insurers are not required to offer when customers are sick. Others, like multiple attempts to ‘repeal and replace Obamacare’ in 2017, failed to attract enough Republican votes in Congress to pass. The Justice Department’s quest to overturn the Affordable Care Act, while no replacement is being offered, is still underway, with oral arguments scheduled at the Supreme Court in November.” [New York Times, 9/24/20]
Bloomberg: “Experts Say That Trump’s Order on Pre-Existing Conditions Won’t Provide Meaningful Protections to Sick People Who Seek Health Insurance.” “What’s not expected: The president’s long-promised comprehensive replacement plan for Obamacare, which his administration is trying to persuade the Supreme Court to strike down. And experts say that Trump’s order on pre-existing conditions won’t provide meaningful protections to sick people who seek health insurance.” [Bloomberg, 9/24/20]
Politico: “The Executive Actions Are Likely to Have Limited Reach and Impact Before the Election.” “The executive actions are likely to have limited reach and impact before the election, industry observers said. A series of drug pricing orders Trump released in the past two months, including one that would link Medicare prices to cheaper ones paid overseas, largely tee up a federal rulemaking process that would take months, if not years, to come into force.” [Politico, 9/22/20]
Politico: Previous Republican Health Plans “Fell Short of Obamacare’s Robust Guarantees.” “Trump and Republicans have regularly promised to safeguard insurance protections, but they have failed to agree on a health plan three years after congressional efforts to repeal Obamacare fell apart. Previous Republican health plans have included some language around preexisting conditions, but they fell short of Obamacare’s robust guarantees.” [Politico, 9/22/20]