Trump calls ObamaCare stats ‘a lie’
Donald Trump on Tuesday claimed that the Obama administration is lying about the size of ObamaCare premium hikes, saying it put out a “phony” number.
{mosads}The administration on Monday announced that the average premium increase for a benchmark ObamaCare plan will be 25 percent for 2017, a number Republicans quickly seized on to criticize the healthcare program.
But Trump took the line of attack a step further.
“And the number of 25 percent is nothing,” the GOP presidential nominee told Fox News. “That’s a phony number, too, that’s a lie, just like everything else.”
The 25 percent figure is from a 40-page report released by the Department of Health and Human Services on Monday. It includes a four-page section on its methods, as well as tables breaking down the premium increases by state and county.
Spokespeople for Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request to elaborate on his comments.
Trump also reiterated his call for ObamaCare to be repealed and replaced.
“There are so many alternatives that are so good and so much less expensive,” Trump said.
Asked about his replacement plan, Trump mentioned health savings accounts and allowing insurance to be sold across state lines.
An analysis from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget found that Trump’s plan would cause 21 million people to lose health coverage while extending coverage to about 1 million people.
Trump said at an event at one of his resorts in Florida on Tuesday morning, “All of my employees are having a tremendous problem with ObamaCare.”
The general manager of the resort, David Feder, then told Politico that “95 percent” of the employees there are provided health insurance through their jobs, which means they would not be enrolled in ObamaCare coverage at all.
Asked about the issue on Fox News, Trump then said his employees are not on ObamaCare.
“At Trump National Doral in Miami, we don’t even use ObamaCare. We don’t want it — the people don’t want it,” he said.
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