DORAL, Florida (AP) — Hoping for a potent late-campaign issue against Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump declared yesterday that “Obamacare is just blowing up” after the government projected sharp cost increases for President Barack Obama’s healthcare programme.
Just two weeks before Election Day, the New York businessman addressed the health care development during an appearance at one of his Florida golf resorts that highlighted the extraordinary intersection of his business and political interests.
His message in a state he described as a “must-win,” was somewhat scattershot, leaving questions of how well he and his party can capitalize on a revived emphasis on “Obamacare.”
“We’re down in Florida. We’re at Trump National Doral. And it’s one of the great places on earth,” Trump said during a visit to his golf club before encouraging his employees to praise him at the microphone.
He suggested that many of his workers are having “tremendous problems with Obamacare” while highlighting a report that predicted premium increases of roughly 25 per cent for the coming year.
The Doral general manager later clarified that 95 per cent of the club’s employees are on company-provided insurance.
Trump vowed anew to “repeal and replace” the president’s signature health care overhaul. Clinton says she wants to keep the best of the program but make improvements.
The Department of Health and Human Services reported Monday that premiums will go up sharply next year under the health care program, and many consumers will be down to just one choice for their insurer.
Before taxpayer-provided subsidies, premiums for a mid level benchmark plan will increase an average of 25 per cent across the 39 states served by the federally run online market.
In some states, the premium increases are striking. In Arizona, unsubsidised premiums for a hypothetical 27-year-old buying a benchmark “second-lowest cost silver plan” will jump by 116 per cent, from $196 to $422, according to the administration report.
The report gives some Republicans new hope in the presidential contest’s final days as Trump’s path to the White House narrows.
Clinton has yet to comment on the projected health care increases. She has previously promised to address health care cost increases and the declining insurance options if elected.