Health care leaders are warning that a second Trump presidential term could lead to millions of Americans losing health coverage.
In a new statement released this week, the bipartisan National Security Leaders for America wrote of their concerns around Americans accessing affordable health care if Trump is reelected.
“If he is elected president, Donald Trump will make our fears a reality,” the organization said in a statement Thursday. “The price of healthcare for American families under Trump would skyrocket, while millions would lose access to healthcare altogether. While his specific policies are at best ambiguous, his track record and his words make clear the damage he would do.”
The group encourages everyone concerned about the price and availability of health care to keep Trump out of the White House.
They are specifically concerned about the continued existence of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The law made health insurance available to millions of uninsured Americans and expanded Medicaid eligibility.
During his presidency, Trump unsuccessfully attempted to repeal the ACA but also lowered funding for consumer assistance navigators by 84 percent and outreach by 90 percent, which brought enrollment numbers down among those who were eligible. The ACA enrollment period was cut in half to six weeks during Trump’s time in office.
When it comes to Trump’s current campaign, he continues to promise to repeal the ACA, and the law’s premium subsidies will expire in 2025, giving the next president perfect timing to implement major changes.
Trump’s presidency resulted in major changes to the reproductive health available across the country. After nominating conservative judges to the U.S. Supreme Court, the court reversed Roe v. Wade, allowing states to take the issue of abortion access into their own hands and outlawing the procedure in many states.
“We believe that a vote for Donald Trump is a vote for more expensive, more dangerous, and less accessible healthcare,” the statement from the National Security Leaders for America reads. “We believe a second Trump administration would be harmful to the health of American families. We urge Americans of all stripes to reject him and his policies.”
Several top health care leaders signed the statement, including Andrew Gurman, the former president of the American Medical Association, Omar Atiq, the president emeritus of the American College of Physicians, and former U.S. Army Surgeon General Ronald Blanck.
Newsweek reached out to Trump for comment.
Alex Beene, financial literacy instructor at the University of Tennessee at Martin, said the concerns from these health care leaders reflect Trump’s past actions in office, but many voters may be against the price increases they’ve experienced since the ACA was passed.
“Some voters feel the changes it introduced are to blame,” Beene told Newsweek. “If you’re a voter concerned about pricing, there’s only one direction, up. If you’re a voter concerned about your coverage and insurance availability, the statements these leaders are making warrant serious consideration.”
While it’s still unclear what Trump’s exact health care plans would be in a second term, repealing the ACA is still likely on his agenda, said Michael Ryan, a finance expert and founder of michaelryanmoney.com.
“His attacks on the law during his first four years, coupled with aggressive moves like expanding short-term and association plans that allowed insurers to reject those with pre-existing conditions, it all points to an agenda that could severely undercut health care access and affordability,” Ryan told Newsweek.
Ryan added that taking away the ACA safety net without an adequate replacement would be hugely disruptive to millions of Americans’ health care coverage, so voters are justified in being worried.
“If we need a reminder of why good health insurance coverage is so important to us, think back to just a few short years ago,” Ryan said. “A once-in-a-lifetime pandemic reminded us how quickly medical crises can upend everything.”
