Trump leaves 1.4 million Michiganders hanging on ‘concepts of a plan’ for affordable healthcare

Ex-President Donald Trump has previously vowed to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which would rip away healthcare for millions of Michiganders. And during this week’s debate, Trump revealed he doesn’t have any real plans to replace it.

MICHIGAN—Federal legislation that provides more than 1.4 million Michiganders with affordable access to health insurance could be on the chopping block next year—and ex-President Donald Trump has made clear that he has no real plans to replace it. 

During this week’s debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump revealed to moderators that he only has “concepts of a plan” to replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) if he’s elected in November. And with a record-breaking 45 million Americans—including more than 1.4 million Michiganders—now enrolled in a low-cost health plan through the ACA and its Medicaid expansion, Trump’s plan (or lack thereof) could create some deadly health outcomes for millions of Michiganders.

ABC moderator Linsey Davis asked: “So just a yes or no, you still do not have a plan?”

Trump responded: “I have concepts of a plan. I’m not president right now.”

He continued by saying he hasn’t formed a real plan: “But if we come up with something I would only change it if we come up with something better and less expensive. And there are concepts and options we have to do that. And you’ll be hearing about it in the not-too-distant future.”

After the debate, Trump’s campaign didn’t offer any additional specifics:

Q: When are we going to be hearing about Trump's 'concept of a plan' on health care?

Trump press secretary: In the not too distant future

Q: Do you have a date?

Trump press secretary: No pic.twitter.com/13reUrAeTF

— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) September 11, 2024

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer blasted Trump after the debate, highlighting the stark contrast between Harris’ “vision to lower costs for Michigan families” versus Trump’s “concepts of a plan.”

“It is clearer than ever that Vice President Harris is the only candidate in this race who can be trusted to deliver for Michigan families,” Whitmer said in a statement this week.

Here’s the deal:

The Affordable Care Act was signed into law by former President Barack Obama in 2010, and it both expanded access to Medicaid for tens of millions of Americans and created a health insurance marketplace where Michiganders can compare plans and choose an option that works best for them and their family—often with subsidies to help reduce the cost.

And ever since “Obamacare,” as it’s otherwise known, was signed into law 14 years ago, ex-President Donald Trump has made it his personal mission to get the legislation repealed.

Trump first pledged to repeal the legislation on the campaign trail ahead of the 2016 election, when many Republicans were calling to “repeal and replace” the law. Trump ultimately never offered a concrete proposal to replace the healthcare system, and efforts to repeal parts of the law were rejected by every Democrat and a handful of Republicans in Congress in 2017.

Last year, Trump again attacked the legislation, noting he was “seriously looking at alternatives” and criticizing the few Republicans who had stood in the way of repealing the law back in 2017. And in a video posted to social media in March, Trump voiced a similar plan again this year, saying, without providing specifics, that he would improve the Affordable Care Act if re-elected.

“We’re going to make the ACA much better than it is right now,” Trump contended.

So what?

Repealing the Affordable Care Act would not only threaten to rip away healthcare insurance from the 45 million Americans who currently get coverage through the ACA marketplace or its Medicaid expansion—but it would also repeal the law’s provisions that are actively preventing private insurance companies from denying coverage to patients with pre-existing conditions.

In Michigan, about 1.4 million people could lose their insurance and about 1.8 million with pre-existing health conditions could also lose those critical protections, federal estimates show.

Advocates have said that the loss of the ACA would also be particularly devastating for people of color, older adults, rural communities, people with disabilities, and the LGBTQ community.

On the other side of the debate stage, Vice President Kamala Harris vowed to “maintain and grow” the Affordable Care Act if she’s elected president in November. She also grilled Trump for repeatedly seeking to repeal the legislation with no concrete plans to fill the health care void.

“You have no plan. And what the Affordable Care Act has done is eliminate the ability of insurance companies to deny people with pre-existing conditions,” Harris said. “Access to health care should be a right and not just a privilege of those who can afford it. And the plan has to be to strengthen the Affordable Care Act, not get rid of it, in terms of where Donald Trump stands.”

READ MORE: 13 wildest lies Trump told in the debate with Kamala Harris

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