The Trump administration is drafting an executive order that would require health care insurers to provide coverage for preexisting conditions, President Donald Trump announced Friday night.
Coverage for preexisting conditions is a major part of the Affordable Care Act, which the Trump administration is currently asking the Supreme Court to invalidate. Trump has long vowed that, though he seeks to remove Obamacare, he would ensure the replacement also provided coverage for preexisting conditions.
“Over the next two weeks I’ll be pursuing a major executive order requiring health insurance companies to cover all preexisting conditions for all customers,” Trump said at the briefing. “This has never been done before, but it’s time the people of our country are properly represented and properly taken care of.”
Trump says over the next two weeks he will pursue a major EO requiring insurers to cover preexisting conditions. “This has never been done before but it’s time the people of our country were properly represented,” he says in remarks to press at his Bedminster golf club.
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) August 8, 2020
Trump’s announcement came one day after laying out six other campaign promises in Ohio. He said he would keep manufacturing jobs in the U.S. and bring more back from overseas. He was also heavily critical of China, saying he would make consequences for companies that do business there. (EXCLUSIVE REPORT: The Inside Story Of How The Trump Team Is Rebuilding Our Supply Chain Preparedness)
Trump has been heavily critical of China since gaining office in 2017, but has ramped up his rhetoric after the coronavirus spread from China across the globe. He has taken to calling COVID-19 the “China virus” and has suggested the U.S. is investigating ways to hold China accountable for its role in allowing the virus to become a global pandemic.