President-elect Donald Trump told the Washington Post his plan to replace the Affordable Healthcare Act is nearly complete and his goal is “insurance for everybody,”
In a phone interview late Saturday, Trump told the Post he’ll force drug companies to negotiate directly with the government for Medicare and Medicaid pricing.
“They’re politically protected but not anymore,” he said.
Republicans have promised to repeal Obamacare and replace it, though the pace in Congress may not match what the president-elect wants to see.
Trump told the Post he expects Congress to move quickly and cohesively in the next few weeks on healthcare and other priorities, including tax cuts and a border wall with Mexico.
{mosads}But Trump said he’ll push Congress to act fast on the repeal.
“The Congress can’t get cold feet because the people will not let that happen,” Trump said.
And his replacement plan is “very much formulated down to the final strokes.”
“We haven’t put it in quite yet but we’re going to be doing it soon,” Trump said, adding that he’s waiting for Health and Human Services nominee Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.) to be confirmed.
He did not detail his plan, but said it will include “lower numbers, much lower deductibles.”
Congress voted last week to approve a budget resolution that would begin repealing the healthcare law, though there is dissent in the GOP on the timeframe and what a replacement plan would look like.
“We’re going to have insurance for everybody,” Trump told the Post. “There was a philosophy in some circles that if you can’t pay for it, you don’t get it. That’s not going to happen with us.”
“It’ll be another plan. But they’ll be beautifully covered. I don’t want single-payer. What I do want is to be able to take care of people,” he added.