Trump Claims He Supports Pre-Existing Condition Protections – While Administration Tries To Repeal Them

President Donald Trump tweeted his support of the current Obama-era protections for people with pre-existing conditions Thursday, saying that “all Republicans support people with pre-existing conditions, and if they don’t, they will after I speak to them.”

The popularity of the Obamacare provision has caused many Republicans to lose necessary support in their races across the country.

Republicans who voted to repeal the Obama-era health care reform like Texas Sen. Ted Cruz are now facing push back from members of the public, and have been attempting to convince voters that they are in favor of such protections.

The president’s tweet was seemingly meant to bolster these efforts.

But while President Trump claims to support the protection for consumers with pre-existing conditions on Twitter, his administration is currently fighting in court to have such protections struck down.

“Did he drop his lawsuit to eliminate protections for those with pre-existing conditions and just not tell anybody?” tweeted Matt House, a spokesman for New York Sen. Chuck Schumer (D).

Lawyers from the Department of Justice are arguing in support of a lawsuit filed by a coalition of 20 states to repeal the individual mandate, the portion of the Affordable Care Act that requires citizens to purchase insurance or face fees and penalties, as unconstitutional.

More than this, they argue that the protections for people with pre-existing conditions cannot be separated from the this part of the Act, and so they too must be repealed.

The Trump administration and Senate Republicans also endorsed several bills last year that aimed to either outright repeal these provisions, or allow states to issue waivers that would allow insurers to raise the cost of insurance for people with pre-existing conditions.

Recently, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R–Ky.) implied that he would be in favor of trying to repeal ObamaCare after the midterms.

“If we had the votes to completely start over, we’d do it. But that depends on what happens in a couple weeks. . . . We’re not satisfied with the way Obamacare is working,” said McConnell.