Fiorina once backed ObamaCare insurance mandate

Republican presidential candidate Carly Fiorina once supported the key healthcare requirement at the heart of ObamaCare.

The former Hewlett-Packard CEO said during a 2013 appearance on CNN’s “Crossfire” that she supported both the individual mandate and the ban on insurance companies denying coverage based on preexisting conditions.

{mosads}”I actually do agree with those two provisions,” Fiorina said in a testy, three-minute exchange with former host Stephanie Cutter. The clip was unearthed by CNN on Thursday.

Fiorina made clear, however, that she did not support the healthcare law as a whole.

“I think ObamaCare remains an abomination,” she said. “I think there are many more efficient ways we could have dealt with this than ObamaCare.”

In between tense exchanges with Cutter, Fiorina said the government should have subsidized high-risk pools instead — an idea that is commonly endorsed by Republican candidates.

Fiorina has been a vocal critic of ObamaCare, citing her own medical experiences while battling breast cancer. She said this summer that the law must be repealed because it is “failing by every measure.” Still, Fiorina, along with every other top GOP candidate, has yet to lay out a replacement plan for ObamaCare.

When pressed again on her position on the individual mandate, Fiorina again said she backed the provision but doubled down on her opposition for the law overall.

“Do not put words in my mouth. I am not for anything that went around either one of those in Obamacare,” she said.