In response to President Biden’s message to Americans today alongside former President Obama on his commitment to protect and expand the Affordable Care Act, DNC National Press Secretary Sarafina Chitika released the following statement: 

“While Donald Trump keeps doubling down on his promise to rip away health care from millions of Americans and overturn former President Obama’s signature achievement, President Biden and Democrats are committed to protecting the Affordable Care Act and ensuring health care access for Americans across the country. Next year, the contrast will be on full display between Trump, who has spent years hellbent on taking away health care and kicking millions of young people off their parents’ insurance, and President Biden, who is delivering on his promise to make health care coverage affordable and accessible for hardworking American families. Trump’s vow to repeal the Affordable Care Act is part of his continued pursuit of an extreme, dangerous, and unpopular agenda that will be the cause of his party’s downfall in 2024.”

NEW: President Biden is teaming up with former President Obama today  to vow to protect and expand the Affordable Care Act — the latest example of  President Biden delivering on his promise to make health care coverage affordable and accessible for all Americans.

CNN: “Biden and Obama team up for Obamacare enrollment push following Trump’s latest repeal threat”

“President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama teamed up on a new video vowing to protect and expand Obamacare at a time when former President Donald Trump has threatened to renew his efforts to repeal the health care law if he wins a second term. … Nearly 7.3 million people have signed up for 2024 coverage in the first five weeks, up nearly 34% from roughly the same period one year earlier.”

“Biden often touts how he and congressional Democrats passed the Inflation Reduction Act, giving Medicare the ability to negotiate some drug prices for the first time and cutting the cost of insulin for Medicare enrollees. On Thursday, [President Biden] promoted another provision of that law that requires drug companies pay a rebate to Medicare if they raise their prices faster than inflation. … Last week, the Biden administration also took several incremental steps aimed at lowering health care costs by promoting competition.”

Under President Biden’s leadership, a record number of Americans enrolled in health care coverage on the Affordable Care Act marketplaces — providing more Americans with affordable coverage than ever before. 

Associated Press: “A record 16.3 million people sought health insurance through the Affordable Care Act this year, double the number covered when the marketplaces first launched nearly a decade ago, the Biden administration announced Wednesday. More than 3 million new members joined the marketplace, also known as ‘Obamacare,’ according to the Department of Health and Human Services.”

Press Release, Department of Health and Human Services: “New HHS Report Shows National Uninsured Rate Reached All-Time Low in 2023 After Record-Breaking ACA Enrollment Period”

Donald Trump is continuing to call for the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, telling MAGA Republicans to “never give up” in their efforts to “terminate” the landmark legislation. 

Daily Beast: “Trump Revives Plan to Dismantle Obamacare if Elected in 2024”

The Messenger: “Former President Donald Trump said he is ‘seriously looking at alternatives’ to Obamacare in a new post on his social media platform Truth Social. He also called it a ‘low point for the Republican Party’ that lawmakers failed to ‘terminate’ the health insurance program established by the Affordable Care Act. According to the latest figures this year, more than 40 million Americans rely on the program for those who can’t afford private plans.”

Trump: “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!”

Trump: “Obamacare is a disaster. And I said, ‘We’re gonna do something about it.’”

Mediaite: “‘OBAMACARE SUCKS!!!’ Trump Rants About New Plan — Years After He Promised It Was ‘Two Weeks’ Away”

Trump isn’t the only 2024 Republican who is railing against the ACA — the entire field has advocated for ripping away health care from millions of Americans.

Jack Heath: “They’re going ahead and saying you would repeal the Affordable Care Act, would you?”

Haley: “It’s not about one small policy of, you know, Affordable Care Act. It’s about fixing the entire health care system.”

DeSantis: “That was one of [Trump’s] big promises as president, he had Republican majorities, and didn’t get the job done. … I opposed Obamacare, I did support the repeal and replace … What we’ll end up doing is effectively just superseding Obamacare.”

Justin Dougherty, Fox Carolina News: “If Republicans get control of Washington, [with] you in the White House, what’s your plan to repeal or replace the Affordable Care Act?”

DeSantis: “Well, look, that was a big failure. Obviously, under the Trump administration, that was a core promise — it didn’t happen. You know, what we’re gonna do is we have this massive health care bureaucracy: pharmaceutical, government, insurance, all this stuff. It’s a total mess. We’re gonna have a comprehensive plan to lower people’s costs, and yes, Obamacare hasn’t done it, so we’ll transcend Obamacare, but I think you got to do a lot more than just that.”

Ramaswamy: “I think Obamacare has been a disaster.”

Christie: “It’s about delivering on issues that voters care about. So the fact is that they care deeply about Obamacare. And Donald Trump promised them he’d repeal and replace it. He had a Republican Congress. He didn’t do it.”

Newly-elected speaker MAGA Mike Johnson has fought to rip away access to affordable care from hardworking Americans for years — he has pushed to repeal the Affordable Care Act and also voted against the Inflation Reduction Act, which is lowering health care costs for millions of Americans. 

Press Release, Office of Congressman Mike Johnson: “U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson joined 11 other freshman members of Congress in a letter published Tuesday by Fox News urging the U.S. Senate to act on repealing the Affordable Care Act.”

The Hill: “As chair of the conservative Republican Study Commission, he has backed health care proposals that the GOP has espoused for years, including a repeal of the Affordable Care Act.”

Daily Beast: “Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA), a member of House GOP leadership, said ‘I assume’ Republicans would move to repeal [the Inflation Reduction Act], but indicated it was still early.”

If the ACA is repealed, 100 million Americans with preexisting conditions could lose critical protections — opening the door for insurance companies to deny them coverage or charge more.

Spectrum News: “The ACA protects more than 100 million people with preexisting conditions from being denied care, plus it requires insurance plans to cover things like preventive care and limit out-of-pocket costs.”

KFF Poll: “Majorities of Democrats [88%], Republicans [62%], and independents [73%] say it is ‘very important’ to continue each of [the Affordable Care Act’s] protections for people with pre-existing conditions.”

Repealing the Affordable Care Act is highly unpopular and would be devastating for the millions of Americans who rely on it.

Jon Favreau: “If Trump wins, 40 million people could lose their health care, and insurance companies would get to deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions. If Biden wins, that…won’t happen.”

KFF Poll: 64% believe it is “very important” insurance companies continue to be prohibited from charging sick people more – including 55% of Republicans. 

NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll: “Thirteen years after the Affordable Care Act was signed into law, more than eight in ten Americans (83%) either agree or strongly agree that all Americans have a basic right to healthcare coverage.”

Bryan Bennett: “Per our October @NavigatorSurvey research, repealing the ACA (and January 6) remain the top concerns about Trump’s first term as president”
Washington Post: “But what’s clear is that an effort to ‘terminate’ Obamacare is not something Americans are pining for. Not only were the GOP’s efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare during Trump’s term historically unpopular, but the law also appears to have gotten more popular since then. … And when politicians talk of ending health insurance for tens of millions of Americans, dropping coverage of preexisting conditions and cutting Obamacare’s Medicaid funding, things get even dicier.”