Friday, February 24, 2017

What did Donald Trump do today?

He made the case for repealing Obamacare by saying that it "covers very few people."

More than 23 million Americans receive health insurance through the Affordable Care Act: 11 million via expanded access to Medicare, and 12.2 million via federal and state-run exchanges. About 20 million fewer Americans were uninsured in 2016 compared to pre-ACA levels.

Since the start of his campaign, Trump has appeared confused about exactly what the ACA, from who is covered by it to how much it costs to whether he's really opposed to it in the first place. It's not clear whether his comments today reflected continued confusion, or were simply a genuine admission that he doesn't regard 23 million Americans' health insurance as very significant.

So what?

  • The health insurance of 23 million Americans is very significant.