Mulvaney: No one will lose health care coverage if courts rule against ObamaCare

Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said Sunday that he could guarantee no Americans would lose health care coverage if President Trump eliminates ObamaCare.

“Yes,” he said when asked by ABC’s “This Week” host Jon Karl if he could guarantee that those with  current health coverage under ObamaCare would keep their coverage even if the administration is successful at getting a court to rule the health law unconstitutional. 

{mosads}“Every single plan that this White House has ever put forward since Donald Trump was elected president covered pre-existing conditions,” Mulvaney said. The administration has not proposed a plan this year to replace ObamaCare, but the White House has indicated a proposal will arrive in the coming months.

“The debate about pre-existing conditions is over,” Mulvaney added. “Both parties support them and anyone telling you anything different in lying for political gain.”

Asked if he can guarantee that Americans will not lose coverage if Obamacare is struck down, acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney says, “yes.”

“The debate about pre-existing conditions is over. Both parties support them,” he adds https://t.co/IXrJ6bIyFF #ThisWeek pic.twitter.com/rCCNcVTD6n

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) March 31, 2019

The Trump administration is ramping up a legal fight against former President Obama’s signature health care law.

On Monday the Department of Justice (DOJ) argued in a brief memo that the entire ObamaCare law should be invalidated. DOJ had previously held that the law’s protections for those with pre-existing conditions were unconstitutional.

Trump then said the GOP would become “the party of great health care.” Democrats have argued that the administration has not put forward a viable alternative plan to ObamaCare.

Republicans have so far failed to pass a new health care plan, despite many GOP lawmakers campaigning on the promise to repeal and replace ObamaCare.

When asked about the administration’s inability to pass new health care legislation so far, Mulvaney said they had been stymied by roadblocks, including the late Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) 2017 vote against a GOP-led repeal effort. Trump has often criticized McCain over the tie-breaking “no” vote.

“We came up with a bunch of ideas out of the White House, yes they didn’t pass primarily because John McCain went back on his word to vote for it in the middle of the night,” Mulvaney said on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday. 

He added that they would be devising new plans while the lawsuit against Obamacare progresses.

Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney on health care: “We came up with a bunch of ideas out of the White House, yes they didn’t pass primarily because John McCain went back on his word to vote for it in the middle of the night.” #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/71u2XLNw7v

— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) March 31, 2019