House Speaker Mike Johnson harshly criticized Obamacare at an event in Pennsylvania on Monday, telling the audience there would be “massive” changes to U.S. health care if Donald Trump wins the election.
“Health care reform is going to be a big part of the agenda. We said we’re going to have a very aggressive agenda in the first 100 days, but there’s still a lot of things on the table.” Johnson, of Louisiana, reportedly spoke while campaigning for Republican House candidate Ryan McKenzie in Bethlehem. To the video obtained by NBC News.
“Isn’t there Obamacare?” an attendee asked Johnson, referring to the 2010 law passed by Democrats, also known as the Affordable Care Act.
“No to Obamacare,” Johnson responded, rolling his eyes. “The ACA is so deeply ingrained that we need major reform to make it work, and we’ve gotten a lot of ideas about how to do that.”
Johnson made the remarks eight days before the presidential election, when Kamala Harris and Democrats are campaigning on protecting and expanding the ACA. Trump, who unsuccessfully tried to wipe out the ACA as president, said on his social media platforms that “Obamacare sucks” and called for a renewed fight. He made it clear that he would be his successor, but did not go into specifics, saying only that “I have an idea for a plan.”
Harris argues that President Trump’s only plan is to repeal the ACA, which has expanded coverage to about 50 million Americans since 2014, according to government statistics.
Johnson voted in 2017 for a bill supported by President Trump to repeal key parts of Obamacare, but on Monday he did not explicitly call for repealing the Affordable Care Act. His office will discuss what reforms he would like to pursue, including which parts of the Affordable Care Act he would keep or repeal, or whether he would support extending ACA subsidies that expire at the end of 2025. When asked if this was the case, he did not provide details. (Mr. Harris and Democrats) called for an extension of that funding. )
Johnson interacted with an audience on health care at a campaign event in Pennsylvania on Monday, giving physician members of the House Republican caucus a “menu of options” on how to reform the system and “remove government bureaucrats from society.” “There is,” he said. Healthcare equation. ”
Although he did not go into detail about what changes he would seek, he did make it clear that deregulation would be part of them.
“We want to light the fire on the regulatory state. These institutions are weaponized against people. It’s destroying free markets. It’s about job creators, entrepreneurs, risk-taking. It’s like a boot on someone’s neck. So health care is one of the areas, and this is needed across the board,” Johnson said. “And Trump is going to be big. I mean, he only has one term left. He can’t run for re-election. So he’s going to think about legacy, and we’re going to fix these problems. .”
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), who is running as the No. 3 Republican leader in the next Congress, has called for major health care reform to be tackled in one big bill in 2025 and an extension of the Trump tax cuts. are. He will replace Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) as Senate Republican leader next year.
Significant rollbacks of the ACA would require Republicans to win the presidency and control of both chambers of Congress, but Democrats are almost certain to block such efforts. There are also calls within the Republican Party to turn the page on the ACA fight, and it is unclear what changes the party will mobilize votes to make.
A 2010 law imposed new regulations on insurance companies that prohibit them from denying people with pre-existing conditions or charging sicker customers higher rates. It also expanded Medicaid eligibility while providing billions of dollars in subsidies to help low-income people buy insurance on the private market.
Mr. Johnson, who travels around the country to campaign for Republican House candidates, spoke only cursory words at Monday’s event.
“If we can remove government bureaucracy from health care and create a doctor-patient relationship, it’s better for everyone. It’s more efficient, it’s more effective,” he said. “That’s the free market. Trump will support the free market.”
Reactions from the Harris and Trump camps
Harris campaign spokeswoman Sarafina Titica caught on to Johnson’s remarks, warning that “health care is on the ballot.”
“Speaker Mike Johnson has made it clear that if Donald Trump wins, he and his Project 2025 allies in Congress will ensure “no Obamacare,” which would reduce health care costs for millions of families. “It means an increase and strips protections from Americans with pre-existing conditions like diabetes, asthma and cancer,” she said.
At an event Wednesday at a union hall in Lansing, Michigan, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said: The Affordable Care Act as we know it. This still remains in their minds. I know they will because if Roe v. Wade can be lost, I’m sure anything can be lost. ”
Johnson sought to clarify his comments after the article was published, telling NBC News in a statement Wednesday: He acknowledged that the policy is “deeply ingrained” in our health care system. ”
Caroline Leavitt, the Trump campaign’s national press secretary, sought to distance Trump from the cause of repealing the ACA, despite his long history of pursuing that goal. Just last month, in a presidential debate with Harris, Trump said Obamacare was “bad” and “we’re going to replace it,” but he said he only had “a vision of a plan” to do so.
Asked about Johnson’s comments, Levitt said, “Repealing Obamacare is not President Trump’s policy position,” adding that Trump is “promoting transparency, promoting choice and competition, and creating new, affordable health care.” “It will improve our nation’s health care system by expanding insurance options.” ”
She did not elaborate on how.
