Insurance For $12? Trump Betrays Health Care Ignorance In NYT Interview [View all]

[DonViejo]

By ALICE OLLSTEIN Published JULY 20, 2017 11:13 AM

President Donald Trump’s interview with the New York Times on Wednesday garnered headlines for comments in which he lashed out at his own attorney general for recusing himself from the federal Russia probe and warned special counsel Bob Mueller not to look too closely into his personal finances and business ties.

But the President’s comments on health care—relevant as he involves himself in the Senate’s struggle to repeal the Affordable Care Act—are just as shocking, revealing a deep ignorance of the basic parameters of the American health care system.


Asked by the Times’ Maggie Haberman about the political difficulty of taking away a benefit that the American people have gotten used to—namely, Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion and generous tax credits—Trump gave a rambling answer describing a fantastical system where insurance costs just $12 per year and that money accrues in some sort of account over one’s lifetime:

“As they get something, it gets tougher. Because politically, you can’t give it away. So pre-existing conditions are a tough deal. Because you are basically saying from the moment the insurance, you’re 21 years old, you start working and you’re paying $12 a year for insurance, and by the time you’re 70, you get a nice plan. Here’s something where you walk up and say, “I want my insurance.” It’s a very tough deal, but it is something that we’re doing a good job of.”

Possibly confusing health insurance with life insurance, Trump seemed unaware that health care premiums can cost hundreds of dollars per month, even for a young, healthy individual.

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