Trump trashes Obamacare as Democrats plan its defense

As Congressional Republicans prepare to repeal Obamacare, President-elect Donald Trump is reminding his Twitter followers that some Democrats, including former President Bill Clinton, have criticized President Barack Obama’s signature health care law.

“People must remember that ObamaCare just doesn’t work, and it is not affordable,” Trump tweeted early Tuesday. “Bill Clinton called it ‘CRAZY.'”

At an October rally for Hillary Clinton in Flint, Mich., Clinton said, “You’ve got this crazy system where all of a sudden 25 million more people have health care and then the people who are out there busting it, sometimes 60 hours a week, wind up with their premiums doubled and their coverage cut in half. It’s the craziest thing in the world.” The former president later tried to walk back those comments.

The same month, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton, also a Democrat, called on Congress to fix the rising costs associated with the 2009 law, also known as the Affordable Care Act.

“The reality is the Affordable Care Act is no longer affordable,” Dayton said.

Trump’s tweets come a day before Obama is scheduled to meet with Democrats on Capitol Hill to discuss how to block Republicans determined to repeal Obamacare.

Earlier this month, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said repealing Obamacare was the first item on the GOP agenda. The 115th Congress is set to be sworn Tuesday.

“Republicans in Congress will once again turn to repealing a law that’s provided coverage to 20 million uninsured Americans, extended consumer protections to many millions more, improved the quality of care offered by our health professionals, and helped slow the growth of health care costs,” the White House said in a statement. “In light of this, on Wednesday, January 4, President Obama will visit a closed-press meeting of the House and Senate Democratic Caucuses.”

According to the White House, Obama “will discuss the work still left to do, including the ideas he has put forth to strengthen the Affordable Care Act (ACA). And he will share his perspective about the dangers posed by Congressional Republicans’ stated strategy to repeal the ACA before proposing any replacement, creating chaos in the health system in the short run — and holding hostage Americans’ health care — while Republicans develop their plan.”

But in an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” Tuesday, Kellyanne Conway, one of Trump’s top advisers, said the president-elect does not want those who are covered under Obamacare to lose their health insurance while a replacement is developed.

“We don’t want anyone who currently has insurance to not have insurance,” Conway said. “Also, we’re very aware the public likes coverage for pre-existing conditions. There are some pieces of merit in the current plan.”

Trump has indicated there are parts of the Affordable Care Act he intends to keep — and that repealing and replacing the law will be done “simultaneously.”

“It’ll be just fine,” Trump said on CBS’ “60 Minutes” on Nov. 13, his first interview as president-elect. “We’re not going to have, like, a two-day period, and we’re not going to have a two-year period where there’s nothing. It will be repealed and replaced. And we’ll know. And it’ll be great health care for much less money. So it’ll be better health care, much better, for less money. Not a bad combination.”