President Donald Trump put a new spin on the Republicans’ failure to repeal Obamacare during a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference, arguing that the dismantling the Affordable Health Care Act ‘piece by piece’ was a more effective method.
Trump initially complained about the loss, calling out one Republican senator—presumably Sen. John McCain, although Trump never named him—for voting against the measure that would have repealed Obamacare.
“But I think we may be better off the way we’re doing this, piece by piece Obamacare is just being wiped out,” Trump said. The president specifically noted that the repeal of individual mandate to buy health insurance, which was included in his tax-cut bill, essentially wiped out a key component of the health care law. The individual mandate, which requires most Americans to carry a minimum level of health coverage, is still in effect for 2018.
“People are getting great health care plans, but we’re not finished yet,” he said.
However, ending Obamacare’s individual mandate does not mean that Obamacare has been repealed. Obamacare’s individual insurance markets, federal subsidies to help Americans pay monthly insurance premiums, and Medicaid expansion in the dozens of states that implemented it will all still be in effect unless Congress takes further action.