Donald Trump warned Tuesday that Hillary Clinton threatens to make the faltering Obamacare law worse by putting the federal government totally in charge of health care and further driving up Americans’ premiums.
“Hillary Clinton wants to expand Obamacare and make it even more expensive. She wants to put the government totally in charge of health care in America,” he said at a event in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, marking the start of 2017 open enrollment for Obamacare.
Mr. Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, said his promise to rip up the health care law and start over was one of the most important reasons for American voters to back him in the election in one week.
“If we don’t repeal and replace Obamacare, we will destroy American health care forever. It is one of the most important reasons why we must win on Nov. 8,” he said.
Mr. Trump, who is battling for a come-from-behind victory in Pennsylvania, rattled off the problems plaguing Obamacare, officially known as the Affordable Care Act, and some of the economic consequences he attributed to the program.
“Insurers are leaving, premiums are soaring, doctors are quitting, companies are fleeing and deductibles go through the roof,” he said. “Workers’ hours are being cut. Hiring is frozen, totally frozen, and wages are being slashed. Obamacare means higher prices, fewer choices and lower quality.”
The enrollment period opened amid widespread angst over skyrocketing premiums and fewer insurance companies for consumer to chose from in many state exchanges. It was a major setback for President Obama’s signature law and a campaign conundrum for Mrs. Clinton, the Democratic nominee who largely backs the law.
Mr. Trump said he would replace Obamacare with a plan that included health saving accounts, allowed insurance companies to compete nationally across state lines and created a free market environment where “parents can make health care choices for their families.”
Mrs. Clinton has acknowledged problems with Obamacare and has pledged to tweak it.
Mr. Trump was joined at the event by his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, and several Republican members of Congress who are doctors or nurses.
Mr. Pence linked the Obamacare mess to the renewed FBI investigation of Mrs. Clinton for using a secret email setup as secretary of state, which has rattled her campaign in the final stretch of the race.
“We can’t trust Hillary Clinton with our health care anymore than we can trust her with classified information,” Mr. Pence said.
“Obamacare — the debacle previously known as Hillarycare — was a government takeover of health care from the start, plain and simple,” he said. “It upended the miracle of the marketplace. Competition was crushed and replaced with the heavy hand of government control. Obamacare is a catastrophic failure. Hillary Clinton says she wants to double down on failure.”
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
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