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Of Course Trump’s First Veto Threat Would Gut Pre-existing Conditions Protections–He’s Been Attacking Health Care Since Day One

By October 10, 2018No Comments

Washington, DC – Upon President Trump’s first-ever veto threat of Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI)’s resolution to block insurers from selling short-term, junk insurance plans, Leslie Dach, chair of Protect Our Care, issued the following statement:

Trump’s first ever act as President was about rolling back American health care and now his first ever veto threat is about ensuring his sabotage that started that day continues — go figure. By pushing junk insurance plans, and wielding veto threats when Senators stand up to them, Trump is making it clear once and for all he’s on the side of more profit for big insurance and less health care for the American people.”

Trump Has Been Falsely Claiming He Supports Pre-existing Conditions Protections on the Campaign Trail

Politifact: “Trump’s Pants on Fire Claim About Democrats, Pre-existing Conditions” [Oct 5, 2018]

Factcheck.org: “Trump Misleads on Pre-existing Conditions” [Oct 2, 2018]

Politifact: “Trump [is]…on the side of those whose lawsuit would effectively end protections…for people with pre-existing conditions” [Sept 30, 2018]

Short-term Plans Hurt People with Pre-existing Conditions

Short-Term Plans Can Exclude Coverage For Pre-Existing Conditions. “Policyholders who get sick may be investigated by the insurer to determine whether the newly-diagnosed condition could be considered pre-existing and so excluded from coverage.” [Kaiser Family Foundation, 2/9/18]

  • As Many As 130 Million Nonelderly Americans Have A Pre-Existing Condition. [Center for American Progress, 4/5/17]
  • One in 4 Children Would Be Impacted If Insurance Companies Could Deny Coverage Or Charge More Because Of A Pre-existing Condition. [Center for American Progress, 4/5/17]

Junk Plans Mean Higher Premiums For People With Pre-Existing Conditions. “By promoting short-term policies, the administration is making a trade-off: lower premiums and less coverage for healthy people, and higher premiums for people with preexisting conditions who need more comprehensive coverage.” [Washington Post, 5/1/18]

Short-Term Junk Plans Can Refuse To Cover Essential Health Benefits. “Typical short-term policies do not cover maternity care, prescription drugs, mental health care, preventive care, and other essential benefits, and may limit coverage in other ways.” [Kaiser Family Foundation, 2/9/18]

Under Many Short-Term Junk Plans, Benefits Are Capped At $1 Million Or Less. Short-term plans can impose lifetime and annual limits –  “for example, many policies cap covered benefits at $1 million or less.” [Kaiser Family Foundation, 2/9/18]

For more information, see Protect Our Care’s fact sheet on short-term junk plans.