Trump: "All Republicans" support preexisting conditions, but White House policy says otherwise



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"All Republicans support people with preexisting conditions, and if they do not do it, they will do it after I talk to them, I'm totally supportive, and the Democrats will destroy your health care system and the will keep healthy! " he tweeted Thursday afternoon after leaving the White House for an election campaign in the West.

The tweet conforms to a familiar refrain from Trump's recent campaign rallies and even goes back to his debates during the Republican primary. However, this does not correspond to the actions and policies of his administration.

Earlier this month, a democratic measure to eliminate short-term health care plans that do not necessarily have to cover pre-existing conditions has failed in the Senate. Senator from Maine, Susan Collins was the only Republican to vote for the measure. The resolution aimed to reject a Trump decree unveiled in August that facilitated the purchase of these plans.

Short-term health care plans do not have to comply with the regulations of the Affordable Care Act that protect people with pre-existing illnesses. These plans may deny coverage or impose higher premiums on Americans based on their medical history. And they do not have to provide complete coverage. The Trump administration facilitated the purchase of these plans, allowing people to buy coverage for just under a year, compared to the Obama administration's 90-day limit.

The administration has also expanded the availability of plans that small businesses can purchase and which are not required to comply with all Obamacare protections.

In addition, the administration sought to remove two fundamental provisions of the Affordable Care Act, which guarantee the protection of people with pre-existing conditions in June.

The White House has backed several bills repealing the Obamacare law, including one in the House of Representatives that argued that coverage of pre-existing conditions was weakened. Several moderate Republicans in the House of Representatives even relied on the lack of protection for people already suffering from health problems as a reason they had voted "no".

And the meager repeal of the White House-approved Affordable Care Act, which had failed in the Senate after Senator John McCain's negative vote in July 2017 – something Trump frequently lambasted during the election campaign – would have given up regulations that would probably have seen higher premiums for those with preexisting conditions.

Health care became a rallying cry for Democrats before election day, and many Democrats quickly responded to Trump's tweet.

"Your ACA repeal would have let people with preexisting conditions fend for themselves.Your tax bill blew up the deficit so Mitch is hoping to use it as an excuse to cut Medicare. Challenges with the truth continue … Bull Trump for short, "Virginia Democrat Rep. Gerry Connolly tweeted.
And the Leader of the Democratic Minority, Senator Chuck Schumer wrote"Mr. President: Look in the mirror and you will see the person to whom you must speak.Remove your trial by fighting to cancel the protections for pre-existing conditions."

The Massachusetts representative, Joe Kennedy, published a photo of Trump in the White House Rose Garden after House Republicans passed a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare.

"It's you and all your friends who laugh hysterically about the destruction of preexisting conditions a year ago. You thought we forgot? he wrote.

Tami Luhby, CNN Lauren Fox, Elizabeth Landers and Ted Barrett contributed to this report.

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