WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – Former President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) are denying accusations they are plotting to repeal the Affordable Care Act also known as Obamacare.
On Monday, Johnson was recorded at a campaign event in Pennsylvania, promising supporters massive health care reforms.
“Health care reform’s going to be part of the agenda,” Johnson said. “When I say we’ve got a very aggressive first 100 days agenda, we’ve got a lot of things on the table.”
Vice President Kamala Harris seized on his remarks. Ahead of a campaign rally Thursday, she told reporters Trump with the help of Johnson will try and repeal the federal health care plan.
“He has made dozens of attempts to get rid of the Affordable Care Act. And now we have further validation of that agenda from his supporter, the speaker of the House,” Harris said.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump called his opponent a “liar” and wrote he never thought of it.
Trump has previously said on the campaign trail, he will not repeal the Affordable Care Act, unless he creates a “better” option. In August he told a crowd the program “stinks.”
“We’re going to do something with it. If we can do better. Meaning less expensive and better health care for you,” Trump said.
Trump has yet to roll out a specific health care policy plan. Brookings Institute Senior Fellow, Matthew Fiedler says that’s likely on purpose.
“I think many of these proposals, you know, were fairly unpopular back in 2017,” Fiedler said. “They don’t necessarily want to be explicit about it.”
Fiedler says during Trump’s first term, Republicans in Congress tried to pass reforms that would have stripped health care coverage from an estimated 20 million Americans.
The proposals rolled back enrollee tax credits, states’ Medicaid expansion programs and relaxed insurance company regulations that required coverage for Americans with pre-existing conditions.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services, 50 million Americans, or one in seven U.S. residents, have been covered through the Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplace since 2014.
Ultimately Republicans will need to win the White House, House and Senate to pass health care reforms.
