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In an attempt to boost Donald Trump’s record on healthcare, JD Vance touted that his family members obtained private insurance for the first time under the former president’s administration.
However he failed to mention a key fact - it was through the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare.
“Members of my family actually got private health insurance at least for the first time, switched off Medicaid onto private insurance for the first time, under Donald Trump’s leadership,” Vance said at the vice presidential debate earlier this month.
He was referring to his mother, who purchased private health insurance through Obamacare’s marketplace after she overcame substance use disorder and began earning too much money to remain on Medicaid, a spokesperson for Vance’s campaign told The Washington Post.
But the Republican vice presidential nominee did not mention that during his debate speech. Instead, he mischaracterized that Trump “worked in a bipartisan way” to save Obamacare when it was on the brink of repealing.
Trump led an effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act when he took office – a move widely supported by Republicans at the time.
Once that failed, and public support for Obamacare surged, his administration began implementing regulatory policies to refine the landmark federal law.
That included reducing the enrollment period in half, opening the door for small businesses to buy less expensive plans with fewer benefits and protections, shutting down the website for 12 hours every Sunday during open enrollment, promoting anti-Obamacare advertisements, weakening tax credits for premium and more.
Obamacare enrollment declined nationally during the Trump administration. However, his regulations did make the marketplace more attractive for insurers and led to an increase in participating insurers.
But even as recently as last November Trump has continued pushing for Republicans to repeal Obamacare, saying Republicans should “never give up” on efforts to terminate it.
Despite Trump’s historic disdain for the Affordable Care Act, Vance still used the Obama-era legislation to boost Trump’s image.
“His running mate had the nerve to say, ‘Donald Trump salvaged the Affordable Care Act’. I mean, Donald Trump spent his entire presidency trying to tear it down and by the way, he couldn’t even do that right,” former president Barack Obama said during a campaign event for Harris.
The Independent has asked a spokesperson for Vance for comment.
