In response to record-breaking ACA enrollment numbers, DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement: 

“Under the Biden-Harris administration, enrollment in the Affordable Care Act is at an all-time high – but Donald Trump and his MAGA minions are still threatening to ‘terminate’ health care coverage after coming up one vote short the last time around. The American people have made it overwhelmingly clear they support the ACA, and Democrats are ready to fight back as Trump and MAGA Republicans once again try to rip away access to care.”

NEW: A record-breaking 24 million Americans have enrolled in health care coverage through the Affordable Care Act marketplaces. 

Associated Press: “‘Obamacare’ hits record enrollment but an uncertain future awaits under Trump”

“A record 24 million people have signed up for insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act, former President Barack Obama’s landmark health legislation, as the program awaits an uncertain future under a Republican-controlled White House and Congress.”

President Biden strengthened the Affordable Care Act and expanded health care access in office, lowering costs for millions of Americans.

Associated Press: “President Joe Biden has pushed an expansion of the program, signing into law billions of dollars in tax credits that expanded who qualified for the health insurance and lowered its cost. Millions of additional Americans can now pay monthly premiums of just a few dollars to get coverage. …

“And the tax credits that made the health care coverage more affordable for millions will expire at the end of this year, unless Congress passes a new law.”

CNN: “The president has taken several steps to enhance Obamacare’s appeal, including beefing up federal premium subsidies through 2025 and allowing more families to qualify for assistance.”

CNN: “Soon after taking office in 2021, Biden moved to bolster Obamacare after years of the Trump administration’s efforts to chip away at the program. In one the most significant moves, the president and congressional Democrats beefed up federal subsidies for Obamacare policies as part of the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act and renewed the more generous assistance as part of last year’s Inflation Reduction Act. The enhanced subsidies – which enable four out of five people to find a plan for less than $10 a month – continue through 2025.”

Trump has doubled down on his extreme agenda to repeal the ACA, which would gut protections for over 100 million Americans with preexisting conditions.

Kristen Welker, NBC News: “Sir, you said during the campaign, you have concepts of a plan. Do you have an actual plan at this point for health care?”

Trump: “Yes. We have concepts of a plan that would be better.”

Welker: “Still just concepts? Do you have a fully developed plan?”

Trump: “Let me explain. We have the biggest health care companies looking at it. We have doctors. We’re always looking because Obamacare stinks. It’s lousy. There are better answers. If we come up with a better answer, I would present that answer to Democrats and to everybody else, and I’d do something about it.” 

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.”

After coming up just one vote short of repealing the ACA when he was in office, Trump spent his campaign pledging to repeal it in a second term. 

NBC News: “Trump approved a surprise decision to push for the complete elimination of the Affordable Care Act in the courts. If it succeeds, millions of Americans will lose their private insurance or Medicaid coverage and the health care system would be thrown into chaos.”

NPR: “The very day President Trump was sworn in — Jan. 20, 2017 — he signed an executive order instructing administration officials ‘to waive, defer, grant exemptions from, or delay’ implementing parts of the Affordable Care Act, while Congress got ready to repeal and replace President Obama’s signature health law.” 

The Hill: “On the campaign trail, Trump has doubled down on his promise to repeal the ACA, a feat he fell one vote short of in 2017.”

Associated Press: “Trump says he will renew efforts to replace ‘Obamacare’ if he wins a second term”

New York Magazine: “Vance: Trump’s Health-Care Plan Is to Let Insurers Charge More for Preexisting Conditions”

“What Vance came up with is not only surprising but, if understood properly, far more damaging than Trump’s original statement. The Trump plan, according to Vance, is to permit insurance companies to discriminate against people with preexisting conditions.”

REALITY CHECK: The majority of Americans approve of the Affordable Care Act and think the government has a “responsibility to ensure all Americans have healthcare coverage.” 

Gallup: “Sixty-two percent of U.S. adults, the highest percentage in more than a decade, say it is the federal government’s responsibility to ensure all Americans have healthcare coverage. …

“Fifty-four percent of U.S. adults approve of the ACA, essentially tying the record-high 55% readings in April 2017 (during Republican-led attempts to repeal the law) and November 2020 (after Joe Biden won election as president).” 

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.”

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