Trump Says There's 'No Such Thing As Obamacare Anymore' One Month Before Enrollment Starts

It's still the law of the land.
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President Donald Trump falsely claimed on Monday the Affordable Care Act no longer exists, a statement that follows a long list of actions his administration has taken to undermine the law.

“Obamacare is finished. It’s dead. It’s gone. You shouldn’t even mention it. It’s gone. There is no such thing as Obamacare anymore,” Trump insisted during a meeting with his Cabinet at the White House.

Contrary to the president’s claims, Obamacare is still the law of the land. In most states, consumers can sign up for health insurance coverage for 2018 from Nov. 1 to Dec. 15.

That’s not to say that it will remain on solid footing. Trump’s administration inflicted two separate blows on the law last week, sowing further instability in the health insurance exchanges set up under Obamacare.

The White House announced Thursday it would halt subsidies that low-income Obamacare consumers rely on, a move that Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said would threaten “the ability of vulnerable people to receive health care.” Trump also signed an executive order on Friday that will allow insurance companies to offer cheaper, less comprehensive health insurance plans.

Former chief White House strategist Steve Bannon seemingly admitted over the weekend that Trump took action to deliberately undermine Obamacare.

“Gonna blow that thing up, gonna blow those [insurance] exchanges up, right?” he said Saturday.

In his remarks at the White House on Monday, Trump said his action ending Obamacare subsidies “actually brought Republicans and Democrats together.” He added that Congress was working on a “short-term” legislative fix on Obamacare that could be expected “fairly shortly.”

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