August 3, 2020

CNN's John Avlon did a reality check about Trump's promised health care plan.

"Remember this?"

Universal.
I am going to take care of everybody.
Far less expensive and far better. We are going to be submitting in a couple of weeks a great health care plan.

"That was candidate and freshly minted President Trump, vowing to repeal Obamacare and replace it with a miracle health care plan."

In a couple weeks.

"Here we are more than three years into the Trump presidency, six weeks into a pandemic, and here's the plan -- [ crickets ].

"But in fairness to the president, he has managed to get something done, dismantling key provisions of Obamacare in the courts, namely the individual mandate. Now he's marshaling his Justice Department to try to kill the whole thing, just as America is suffering through a pandemic that's killed more than 150,000 of our fellow Americans and infected millions more, all while the second quarter GDP number was the worst on record, nearly 33% in the red if it were extended to the whole year. So no wonder the president keeps promising that his mission to kill the Affordable Care Act won't actually remove one of the things that people really like about it."

Pre-existing conditions will be totally protected. Pre-existing conditions.

"That claim received the coveted Bottomless Pinocchio rating from the Washington Post, because it's something that only Obamacare does right now. It turns out that having a pre-existing health condition occurs across partisan lines. Not to mention that President Trump has no answer for the fact that since the Affordable Care Act has passed, upwards of 20 million Americans who weren't insured before now are. This is the old arsonist as a firefighter routine, with possibly your life on the line. But wait, now we're in an election year, so you might have heard something like this."

KELLYANNE CONWAY: This health care president the the one that is governing. This health care president started out with transparency. and that's what we're focused on, that the health care continues to deliver for America.

"But remember that Kellyanne Conway is the person who famously said, you don't take an oath to tell the truth before you go on TV. But where's the plan that this alleged health care president told Chris Wallace would be released again within those magical --

Two weeks, a full and complete health care plan.

"We've heard all of this before, and even if there were a plan, there's virtually no chance it would get put into place before Election Day. Look, good people can disagree over the details of health care. It's complicated. Whether it's the ACA, the public option, Medicare for all, or a more free market plan that has some evidence that it might lower costs. But we can't ignore the fact that a decade after Obamacare's package and endless demonization by the GOP, there still isn't a plan for replacement. It's all repeal, all the time, even in a pandemic. No matter how many people might get hurt, all for short-term political gain, all bolstered by apparent ignorance."

Nobody knew that health care could be so complicated.

"Yes, Mr. President, we pretty much all did. But in a time when so many people are suffering, it would be nice if you remembered the Hippocratic oath: 'first, do no harm.'

"And that's your reality check."

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