NEW: President Biden Is Overseeing a Record Expansion of Health Care Coverage As Trump Pushes To Rip It Away

WASHINGTON, Feb. 5 -- The Democratic National Committee issued the following news release:

In response to record-breaking ACA enrollment numbers, DNC National Press Secretary Sarafina Chitika released the following statement:

"The numbers don't lie: Under President Biden's leadership, a record-breaking number of Americans are enrolling in health care coverage under the Affordable Care Act, saying loud and clear - once again - that they want nothing to do with Donald Trump's attempts to rip away their health care. Trump has threatened time and again to repeal the ACA, which would threaten tens of millions of Americans' coverage and open the door for insurance companies to discriminate against up to 135 million people with preexisting conditions. MAGA Republicans' attacks against affordable health care are overwhelmingly unpopular, and with the future of affordable health care on the ballot this November, the choice for voters is clear."

NEW: A record number of more than 21 million Americans have enrolled in health care coverage through the Affordable Care Act marketplaces.

Washington Post: "Obamacare enrollment hits record level as Trump vows repeal"

"More than 21 million people have signed up for health plans through the Affordable Care Act's health insurance marketplaces, the Biden administration announced Wednesday. The record level of enrollment comes as former president Donald Trump, seeking the GOP nomination, is again vowing to repeal the program if elected."

CNN: "Obamacare sign-ups hit record 21.3 million as Biden pushes his efforts to lower health care costs"

"Nearly 5 million more people signed up for Obamacare policies for this year compared with last year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversees the Affordable Care Act marketplaces, said Wednesday. Notably, about a quarter of people selecting plans were new consumers. ... Former President Donald Trump, who is running for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, has revived his promise to repeal Obamacare, saying it 'sucks.'"

President Biden has strengthened the Affordable Care Act while in office - including by lowering premiums and expanding access to health care for hardworking American families.

CNN: "The president has taken several steps to enhance Obamacare's appeal, including beefing up federal premium subsidies through 2025 and allowing more families to qualify for assistance."

CNN: "Soon after taking office in 2021, Biden moved to bolster Obamacare after years of the Trump administration's efforts to chip away at the program. In one the most significant moves, the president and congressional Democrats beefed up federal subsidies for Obamacare policies as part of the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act and renewed the more generous assistance as part of last year's Inflation Reduction Act. The enhanced subsidies - which enable four out of five people to find a plan for less than $10 a month - continue through 2025."

CNN: "Biden finalizes plan to open up Obamacare subsidies to more families"

Donald Trump is hellbent on getting rid of the ACA and ripping away access to affordable care from tens of millions of Americans.

Daily Beast: "Trump Revives Plan to Dismantle Obamacare if Elected in 2024"

The Messenger: "Former President Donald Trump said he is 'seriously looking at alternatives' to Obamacare in a new post on his social media platform Truth Social. He also called it a 'low point for the Republican Party' that lawmakers failed to 'terminate' the health insurance program established by the Affordable Care Act. According to the latest figures this year, more than 40 million Americans rely on the program for those who can't afford private plans."

Mediaite: "'OBAMACARE SUCKS!!!' Trump Rants About New Plan -- Years After He Promised It Was 'Two Weeks' Away"

Trump: "The cost of Obamacare is out of control, plus, it's not good Healthcare. I'm seriously looking at alternatives. We had a couple of Republican Senators who campaigned for 6 years against it, and then raised their hands not to terminate it. It was a low point for the Republican Party, but we should never give up!"

Trump: "Obamacare is a disaster. And I said, 'We're gonna do something about it.'"

When he was in office, Trump came up just one vote short in Congress from achieving his goal of repealing the Affordable Care Act.

The Hill: "On the campaign trail, Trump has doubled down on his promise to repeal the ACA, a feat he fell one vote short of in 2017."

Trump: "I will get health care. I'm one vote short of health care. I'll get health care."

Reuters: "The most previous attempt to repeal Obamacare fell one vote short in July, in a humiliating setback for Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell."

Nikki Haley has a yearslong record of attacking the Affordable Care Act and calling to "defund" it, and she vowed to never expand Medicaid coverage as governor of South Carolina.

Jack Heath: "They're going ahead and saying you would repeal the Affordable Care Act, would you?"

Haley: "It's not about one small policy of, you know, Affordable Care Act. It's about fixing the entire health care system."

Haley: "We have fought Obamacare in South Carolina as much as we possibly could. We said no to the state exchanges. We said no to the Medicaid expansion. ... They just turned around and set every state back with this bill that we know did not work."

Haley: "When it came to Obamacare, we didn't just say 'no,' we said 'never.' ... And we're going to keep on fighting until we get people like [Senator Tim Scott] and everybody else in Congress to defund Obamacare."

Haley: "We would end a disastrous health care program, and replace it with reforms that lowered costs and actually let you keep your doctor."

NBC News: "Haley opposed efforts to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act (South Carolina remains just one of 11 states that hasn't expanded Medicaid to allow more Americans to have health insurance)."

Haley: 'They're trying to throw Obamacare and tell us that we have to bust our budgets and expand Medicaid. ... Not in South Carolina. As long as I am the governor of South Carolina, we will not expand Medicaid on President Obama's watch. We will not expand Medicaid ever."

MAGA Mike Johnson has pushed to repeal the Affordable Care Act and voted against President Biden's historic Inflation Reduction Act, which is lowering prescription drug costs.

The Hill: "As chair of the conservative Republican Study Commission, [Johnson] has backed health care proposals that the GOP has espoused for years, including a repeal of the Affordable Care Act."

Press Release, Office of Congressman Mike Johnson: "U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson joined 11 other freshman members of Congress in a letter published Tuesday by Fox News urging the U.S. Senate to act on repealing the Affordable Care Act."

Daily Beast: "Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA), a member of House GOP leadership, said 'I assume' Republicans would move to repeal [the Inflation Reduction Act], but indicated it was still early."

Repealing the Affordable Care Act would threaten the health coverage of millions of Americans, and as many as 135 million Americans with preexisting conditions could lose critical protections.

Jon Favreau: "If Trump wins, 40 million people could lose their health care, and insurance companies would get to deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions. If Biden wins, that...won't happen."

Spectrum News: "The ACA protects more than 100 million people with preexisting conditions from being denied care, plus it requires insurance plans to cover things like preventive care and limit out-of-pocket costs."

KFF Poll: "Majorities of Democrats, Republicans, and independents say it is 'very important' to continue each of [the Affordable Care Act's] protections for people with pre-existing conditions."

Trump and MAGA Republicans' plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act is overwhelmingly unpopular among voters.

Politico: "Obamacare is even more popular than the last time Trump tried to kill it"

"Roughly three-in-five Americans like the 2010 health care law, even more than when Trump and Republicans in Congress came to the brink of wiping it out. And some of the Affordable Care Act's better-known provisions -- like protections for preexisting health conditions -- engender even greater support."

"[Trump] did more than pick at an electoral scab that party strategists hoped had healed by now. He threatened to bring back to life a potent electoral issue that contributed significantly to the GOP's wipeout in the 2018 midterms and on which public opinion has only moved away from Republicans since."

Washington Post: "But what's clear is that an effort to 'terminate' Obamacare is not something Americans are pining for. Not only were the GOP's efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare during Trump's term historically unpopular, but the law also appears to have gotten more popular since then. ... And when politicians talk of ending health insurance for tens of millions of Americans, dropping coverage of preexisting conditions and cutting Obamacare's Medicaid funding, things get even dicier."

CNN: "Obamacare has gotten popular. Trump doesn't care"

Axios: "A new KFF poll underscores why former President Trump reigniting conversation about repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act was probably a bad idea politically ... Only 32% of Republican respondents said they think the future of the ACA is a very important issue for 2024 presidential candidates to talk about."

KFF Poll: 64% believe it is "very important" insurance companies continue to be prohibited from charging sick people more - including 55% of Republicans.

NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist Poll: "Thirteen years after the Affordable Care Act was signed into law, more than eight in ten Americans (83%) either agree or strongly agree that all Americans have a basic right to healthcare coverage."

Bryan Bennett: "Per our October @NavigatorSurvey research, repealing the ACA (and January 6) remain the top concerns about Trump's first term as president"

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Original text here: https://democrats.org/news/new-president-biden-is-overseeing-a-record-expansion-of-health-care-coverage-as-trump-pushes-to-rip-it-away/