Conway: Nobody will lose coverage under ObamaCare replacement

by Peter Sullivan - 01/03/17 9:08 AM ET

Kellyanne Conway, a top adviser to President-elect Donald Trump, said Tuesday that the incoming administration plans to have no one currently on ObamaCare coverage become uninsured under a replacement.

“If Americans have healthcare today under the Affordable Care Act, will they have healthcare — it sounds like Donald Trump is saying they will have healthcare under whatever replaces it?” host Joe Scarborough asked Conway on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”

“That is correct. We don’t want anyone who currently has insurance to not have insurance,” Conway replied. “Also we are very aware that the public likes coverage for pre-existing conditions. There are some pieces of merit in the current plan.”

Conway pointed to steep premium increases, though, as a reason for why ObamaCare needs to be repealed and replaced.

{mosads}Conway’s assertion about maintaining the same level of coverage as ObamaCare is an important marker for Democrats who warn that the 20 million people who have gained coverage under the health law could lose it when the law is repealed.

It is impossible to know how a Republican replacement plan will actually stack up until a detailed one is unveiled and analyzed by experts.

Republicans envision less regulation and federal spending, meaning people will likely get less financial assistance to help them buy a cheaper, less comprehensive insurance plan than under ObamaCare.

Democrats tend to warn that low-income people would not be given enough help to be able to afford insurance under a Republican plan. Some Democrats also doubt that Republicans will ever coalesce around a detailed replacement plan.

Asked whether Republicans have a replacement plan ready, Conway pointed to the confirmation process of Trump’s Health and Human Services (HHS) pick, Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.).

“We don’t have an HHS secretary confirmed yet,” she said.

Conway also left some wiggle room on Trump’s desire to repeal and replace ObamaCare “simultaneously.” That plan would be different from that of Republicans in Congress, who intend to repeal the law on a delay to buy time to come up with a replacement.

Asked about simultaneous repeal and replace, Conway said, “That’s the ideal situation, Joe.”

“Let’s see what happens practically,” she added. “Some experts say that it could take years to actually complete the process.”

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