Opinion

Calling out Trump’s health-care lies

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President Trump continues to bolster his self-proclaimed accomplishments on a wide range of topics, including health care. Unfortunately, he has yet to propose any policies to lower health care costs and expand coverage for Michiganders. Instead, he repeats his lies and false promises on health care, as he has been doing since the inception of his presidential campaign. 

President Trump and his team are already in deep trouble when it comes to healthcare this year. In January, Trump lashed out at his own secretary of the Health and Human Services Department because of polling showing that the administration’s health care policies are wildly unpopular among voters. He seems to be frustrated and desperate and will say, but not do, what Michiganders want when it comes to fixing health care. 

During Trump’s presidency, there has been a huge spike in drug prices. His response? Give drug companies billions of dollars in tax breaks and oppose giving Medicare the authority to negotiate lower drug prices — the most effective solution to this problem. Though Trump has stated that “drug prices are coming down, for the first time in 51 years because of my administration,” the truth is that drug companies have continued to consistently raise their prices and reap massive profits throughout his presidential term. 

In response, Democrats have drafted ambitious bills to try and lower drug costs. The president first praised, then opposed, the bills, leaving them stuck with no GOP support.

 

 

On top of Trump’s refusal to lower drug prices, his administration and its Republican allies continue to undermine the Affordable Care Act. After trying, and failing, to repeal the ACA through legislation numerous times, Republicans are now focused on an ongoing federal lawsuit to overturn the landmark health care law. If the lawsuit is successful, 20 million Americans could lose their health insurance, and 135 million Americans with pre-existing conditions, including 4.1 million Michiganders, could lose access to care. Incredibly, Trump still has the audacity to claim he “saved” protections for those with pre-existing conditions, despite boasting about how his lawsuit would “terminate” the ACA and its consumer protections.

These blatant lies and vicious attacks on Americans with pre-existing conditions prove exactly how much the president cares about providing healthcare to those in need. But that’s not all: though Trump has promised that he and Republicans will “stand for protecting Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid,” he as recently as this month, signaled he will slash benefits for Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security in 2020 if re-elected. 

Trump promised that his health care plan would cover everyone and claimed he is “far better” on health care than Democrats. But under his administration, attacks on Obamacare have left 7 million Americans uninsured. Despite his many promises to release a “phenomenal” health care plan, he has yet to produce one. Instead of using the State of the Union address to introduce a plan for American health care, the president continued to try to undermine Obamacare. I hope Michiganders can see past his false promises and the fake news.

(Angela Wilson is and Okemos resident who relies on prescription drugs to manage a serious chronic illness.)

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