President Trump said Friday he will sign a “major executive order” that forces insurance companies to cover preexisting conditions but did not say how it would differ from protections that already exist under Obamacare.
“We have to cover preexisting conditions,” Mr. Trump said at his golf club in New Jersey. “That’s a big thing.”
Ensuring coverage for sicker Americans has become gospel for many politicians in Washington since the Affordable Care Act passed a decade ago.
President Barack Obama’s 2010 law ensured coverage for people with preexisting conditions and offered subsidies for private coverage on the individual market. But in doing so, it raised premiums for those who earn too much to qualify for federal assistance.
Republican lawmakers who favor the protections say it’s possible to take care of people with underlying conditions while offering cheaper coverage for everyone else.
Yet the issue twisted GOP majorities in knots during a failed bid to repeal and replace Obamacare in 2017. As a result, Mr. Trump had to find ways to tweak Obamacare on his own.
Mr. Trump in recent days has promised an executive order on health care — though offered few details — as he eyes a tough reelection bid in November.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.