1,500 Physicians Call on Trump to Actually Produce Health Care Plan

During his sole debate against Vice President Kamala Harris, Donald Trump declared that he had “concepts of a plan” to improve the Affordable Care Act. Days before voters are set to cast their ballots on Election Day, no plan has manifested, and doctors are demanding answers. 

A coalition of more than 1,500 American doctors and physicians are calling on Trump to provide an actual prescription to fix the law he’s maligned and vowed to repeal for almost a decade. In an open letter provided to Rolling Stone by the Committee to Protect Healthcare, physicians note that in April Trump “did an about-face, claiming he doesn’t want to ‘terminate the ACA’ but instead make it ‘much better.’” 

“Mr. Trump has either refused or simply failed to share any concrete plans for improving the ACA, including in the most recent debate” the letter notes. “Our patients and Americans nationwide deserve to know what would be in store for their health care in a second Trump presidency so that they can make informed decisions on November 5.” 

The coalition details several policies Trump implemented during his administration aimed at sabotaging the implementation of the ACA, and his support of congressional efforts by Republicans to fully repeal the law. 

On the first day of his presidency, Trump signed an executive order aimed at weakening the ACA’s individual mandate. His administration gutted funding for the ACA’s advertising and enrollment assistance budget, leading to a drop in new enrollments during his term in office. His administration also halved the public enrollment period through which Americans could sign up for health insurance. 

During his 2020 campaign for reelection, Trump supported litigation aimed at fully repealing the ACA — with no plan for a replacement in place. 

“We’re going to come up with a health care plan. We’re not going to vote on it until after the election,” Trump said at the time. “We should have done it when we had the position. We’re going to get it back, and it’s going to be a better plan. We’re going to give a great health care plan, and we’re going to campaign on that plan. It’s going to be much less expensive than Obamacare and much more usable in terms of deductibles.” 

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Fast forward four years and the former president has only slightly changed his tune. After years of attempting to cripple the Affordable Care Act, Trump decided earlier this year to rebrand as its savior. 

During his September debate against Harris, Trump said: “I had a choice to make when I was president. Do I save it and make it as good as it can be? Never going to be great. Or do I let it rot? And I felt I had an obligation, even though politically it would have been good to just let it rot and let it go away.” 

“I saved it,” he claimed. “I did the right thing. But it’s still never going to be great. And it’s too expensive for people. And what we will do is we’re looking at different plans. If we can come up with a plan that’s going to cost our people, our population less money and be better health care than Obamacare, then I would absolutely do it. But until then I’d run it as good as it can be run.”

When pressed by ABC News’ Linsey Davis to clarify if he actually had a plan to improve the ACA, Trump once again had nothing. 

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“I have concepts of a plan,” Trump responded. “There are concepts and options we have to do that. And you’ll be hearing about it in the not-too-distant future.” 

The not-too-distant future has arrived. With less than three weeks before the election, Trump remains a policy void when it comes to any issue besides mass deportations and revenge fantasies against his political opponents.