On the anniversary of Donald Trump calling for the Affordable Care Act to be “terminated” by the Supreme Court, DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd released the following statement: 

“Four years ago today, Donald Trump called on his handpicked Supreme Court justices to ensure the Affordable Care Act and its protections for millions with preexisting conditions were ‘terminated.’ Now, he and JD Vance are backing an extreme Project 2025 agenda that makes repealing the ACA a ‘priority’ while pushing plans that could jack up health care costs — and working Americans will pay the price. Vice President Harris and Governor Walz know nobody should have their access to care threatened because of a preexisting condition, and will fight every day to make sure extremists like Trump and Vance can’t rip our health care away.”

As president, Donald Trump led efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and spent years railing against affordable health care. Now, he and JD Vance want to “terminate” the ACA.

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.” 

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

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

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”

Vance “suggested repealing Obamacare would still be a priority” for the Trump-Vance ticket.

NOTUS: “Vance suggested repealing Obamacare would still be a priority.

[…]

“Vance said the ‘repeal and replace efforts’ during Trump’s presidency were ‘fundamentally focused around the idea of fixing what was broken, not about stripping people’s health care away. So yeah, I think you’re certainly gonna see efforts to reform the system. Obviously, what that looks like will depend a little bit on Congress because Congress has to have a role to play.’”

Vance: “… health care costs too much. And it is also true that Obamacare has failed to take care of this problem.”

When he was in office, Trump came up just one vote short in Congress from achieving his goal of repealing the ACA…

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.”

Trump: “I will get health care. I’m one vote short of health care. I’ll get health care.”

Reuters: “The most previous attempt to repeal Obamacare fell one vote short in July, in a humiliating setback for Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.”

…and if Trump and Vance get their way, over 100 million Americans with preexisting conditions could lose critical protections — opening the door for insurance companies to deny them coverage.

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.”

Washington Post: “Vance floats new health plans for chronically ill, reopening ACA debate”

“Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) this week said the Trump campaign wants to roll back the Affordable Care Act’s approach to how chronically ill Americans shop for health insurance, with the Republican vice-presidential candidate reopening a health-care debate that Democrats are eager to have — and resurrecting a fight that has repeatedly burned the GOP.

“Speaking in North Carolina on Wednesday, Vance floated an idea to group chronically ill patients together in health-insurance pools based on their elevated risks. That would reverse a shift driven by the Affordable Care Act, which largely ended the practice of shunting chronically ill patients into what are known as high-risk pools and provided new protections for patients with preexisting conditions.”

Bloomberg: “JD Vance’s Pitch Puts Obamacare Repeal Efforts Back in the Spotlight”

“Democrats are seizing on JD Vance’s pitch to do away with a bedrock part of the Affordable Care Act, saying it would cause costs for chronically ill people to spike.

“At a rally on Wednesday, Vance said a second Trump administration would work to separate people into different risk pools, allowing them ‘to choose a health care plan that works for them.’

“Such a policy would effectively end the ACA’s guarantee that people pay the same prices and get the same benefits regardless of their health status, a popular part of the program.”

Semafor: “JD Vance reopens the pre-existing condition debates”

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

The New Republic: “J.D. Vance Reveals Atrocious Little Detail of Trump’s Health Care Plan”

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 ACA is highly unpopular and would be devastating for millions of hardworking Americans.

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.”