AP FACT CHECK: Trump’s false push on preexisting conditions

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is teasing possibility of executive action to require health insurance companies to cover preexisting medical conditions, something that he says “has never been done before.”

It’s been done before.

People with such medical problems have health insurance protections because of President Barack Obama’s health care law, which Trump is trying to dismantle.

A look at Trump's claim during a news conference Friday evening in Bedminster, New Jersey:

TRUMP: “Over next two weeks, I’ll be pursuing a major executive order requiring health insurance companies to cover all preexisting conditions for all customers. That’s a big thing. I’ve always been very strongly in favor. ... This has never been done before.”

FACTS: executive order is needed to protect people with preexisting medical conditions because “Obamacare” alrey does that and it’s law of land. If Trump persues Supreme Court to overturn Affordable Care Act as unconstitutional, it’s unclear what degree of protection an executive order would offer in place of law.

Obama health law states that “a group health plan and a health insurance issuer offering group or individual health insurance cover may t impose any preexisting condition exclusion with respect to such plan or cover.”

Or sections of law act to bar insurers from charging more to people because of past medical problems and from canceling cover, except in cases of fraud. In past, re were horror stories of insurers canceling cover because a patient h a recurrence of cancer.

It’s dubious that any president could enact such protections through an executive order, or Obama would never have needed to go to Congress to get his health law passed. Likewise, President Bill Clinton could have simply used a presidential decree to enact his health plan, or major parts of it, after it failed to get through Congress.

“I can’t imagine what authority president could invoke to require insurers to cover preexisting conditions if Supreme Court does throw ACA out,” said Larry Levitt, executive vice president for health policy at npartisan Kaiser Family Foundation.

“re is magic wand you can wave to just make it so,” he said.

Levitt said to make cover of preexisting conditions a reality, insurers would need to be barred as y are under Obamacare from placing limits on lifetime and annual benefit payments, and allow for uniform premiums for sick and healthy. Also, subsidies have to be offered to encour healthy people to enroll in plans so premiums are kept down.

Trump, who faces a tough reelection bid in vember, did t provide details on his proposal. He’s argued that Obama's law is too costly and ineffective and has been pledging since his 2016 campaign to replace it with a better plan.

Republicans were unable to muscle ir replacement through Congress when y controlled House and Senate in 2017 during Trump’s first year. Various GOP bills would have offered a degree of protection for people with preexisting conditions, but proposed safeguards were seen as less than what law alrey provided. general approach in Republican legislation would have required people to maintain continuous cover to avoid being turned down because of a preexisting condition.

Trump has frequently claimed he will always protect preexisting conditions despite evidence to contrary and has even asserted falsely that he was one who “saved” such protections.

One of Trump’s alternatives to Obama’s law — short-term health insurance, alrey in place — doesn’t have to cover preexisting conditions. Ar alternative: association health plans, which are oriented to small businesses and sole proprietors and do cover preexisting conditions. Neir of two alternatives appears to have me much difference in market.

Democratic attacks on Republican efforts to repeal health law and weaken preexisting condition protections proved successful in 2018 midterms, when Democrats won back control of House.