Former President Donald Trump says that he wants to “replace” former President Barack Obama’s “Affordable Care Act,” more commonly known as ObamaCare.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said that he would rather “replace” ObamaCare instead of terminating it entirely.
“Getting much better Healthcare than Obamacare for the American people will be a priority of the Trump Administration. It is not a matter of cost, it is a matter of HEALTH,” the 45th president wrote. “America will have one of the best Healthcare Plans anywhere in the world. Right now it has one of the WORST!”
“I don’t want to terminate Obamacare, I want to REPLACE IT with MUCH BETTER HEALTHCARE,” Trump wrote in a separate post. “Obamacare Sucks!!!”
Trump, who is currently the leading Republican presidential candidate for 2024, previously said that he was “seriously looking at alternatives” to one of Obama’s signature achievements.
“The cost of Obamacare is out of control, plus, it’s not good Healthcare. I’m seriously looking at alternatives. We had a couple of Republican Senators who campaigned for 6 years against it, and then raised their hands not to terminate it. It was a low point for the Republican Party, but we should never give up!” he posted at the time.
Republican lawmakers have largely given up campaigning against ObamaCare since the late Arizona Sen. John McCain dramatically destroyed the GOP effort against it in 2017.. The GOP’s three subsequent attempts to repeal the law have likewise been unsuccessful in court.
Trump’s comments surprised a number of GOP senators, who pointed out that there had not been any substantive discussions in recent years about replacing ObamaCare.
“I’m for lowering costs and making our health care system more efficient, but I’m not sure,” Senate Republican Whip John Thune of South Dakota said in reference to the former president’s posts. “I’d want to know what the proposal is.”
President Joe Biden’s campaign, meanwhile, warned that replacing ObamaCare could affect “millions of people” and said that the Affordable Care Act will be a focal point of the incumbent president’s reelection campaign.
“Donald Trump’s America is one where millions of people lose their health insurance and seniors and families across the country face exorbitant costs just to stay healthy. Those are the stakes next November,” Biden campaign spokesman Ammar Moussa said.
