Transcript - Remarks: Donald Trump Delivers Remarks at Lunch with Members of Congress - July 19, 2017 | Factba.se

Donald Trump

00:00:00 - 00:00:28 (28 sec)

[In progress] It was not hard, It was't hard. We're close. I think, we're a lot closer than people understand and we have to pull it through. So important. But we're in this room today to deliver on our promise to the American people, to repeal Obamacare and to ensure that they have the health care that they need. We have no choice. We have to repeal and replace Obamacare.

Donald Trump

00:00:28 - 00:00:58 (30 sec)

We can repeal it, but the best is repeal and replace, and let's get going. I intend to keep my promise, and I know you will too. Since 2013, Obamacare premiums have skyrocketed. In Alaska, they went up over 200% recently. We know that in Arizona, they've been up 118%, and those states are good compared to some of the numbers that are coming out.

Donald Trump

00:00:58 - 00:01:28 (30 sec)

Despite the promise that premiums would decrease by $2,500 on average, they've actually increased by almost $3,000, and even much more than that in some cases. It's crushing the middle class, and the families of the middle class. It's frankly crushing our country, Obamacare, was a big lie. You can keep your doctor. Lie. You can keep your plan. Lie. It was a lie directly from the President.

Donald Trump

00:01:28 - 00:01:56 (28 sec)

You can keep your doctor, you can keep your plan. 28 times. He said it 28 times and it was a lie, and he knew it was, and now it's hurting this country irreparably. Premiums are so high that 6.5 million Americans chose to pay a fine to the IRS. Instead of buying insurance, the famous mandate, we will pay not to take the insurance.

Donald Trump

00:01:56 - 00:02:25 (29 sec)

People don't understand that. They don't even understand what it is, or what it represents. If Obamacare is not repealed in 2018, over 1,300 counties in the United States will have only one insurer. 40 counties will have absolutely no coverage in the exchange, and that number will grow rapidly, and I think those numbers are extremely conservative.

Donald Trump

00:02:25 - 00:02:51 (26 sec)

I think they're very low. I've been here just six months, I'm ready to act. I have pen in hand too, believe me, I'm sitting in that office. I have pen in hand. You never had that before. You know, for seven years you had an easy route. We'll repeal will replace, and he's never going to sign it, but I'm signing it. So it's a little bit different.

Donald Trump

00:02:51 - 00:03:15 (24 sec)

But I'm ready to act. For seven years, you promised the American people that you would repeal Obamacare. People are hurting. Inaction is not an option, and frankly, I don't think we should leave town unless we have a health insurance plan. Unless we can give our people great health care -- because we're close, we're very close.

Donald Trump

00:03:15 - 00:03:42 (27 sec)

The other night, I was very surprised when I heard a couple of my friends -- my friends, they really were -- and are. They might not be very much longer, but that's another thing. I think. I have to get them back. Well, no, you didn't go out there. This was the one we were worried about, but you weren't there. But you're gonna be. You're gonna be. [Laughter] Look, ee wants to remain a Senator, doesn't he, okay?

Donald Trump

00:03:42 - 00:04:05 (23 sec)

And I think, the people of your state, who I know very well. I think they're going to appreciate what you hopefully will do. Any Senator who votes against starting to debate, he's really telling America that you're fine with Obamacare. But being fine with Obamacare isn't an option for another reason, because it's gone, it's failed. It's not going to be around.

Donald Trump

00:04:05 - 00:04:34 (29 sec)

We pay hundreds of millions of dollars a month in subsidies that the courts don't even want us to pay, and when those payments stop it stops immediately. It doesn't take two years, three years, one year... its stops immediately. On the other hand -- and I have to say this -- a yes vote -- will let Senators debate the future of health care, and suggest different ways to improve the bill, and we're going to do that today. That's we're gonna do at lunch. We are so close.

Donald Trump

00:04:34 - 00:05:00 (26 sec)

The way I look at it, you know, we have no Democrat help. They are obstructionists, that's all they're good at is obstruction. They have no ideas. They've gone so far left, they're looking for single-payer, that's what they want, but single-payer will bankrupt our country, because it's more than we take in for just health care, so single-payer is never going to work. But that's what they'd like to do.

Donald Trump

00:05:00 - 00:05:37 (37 sec)

They have no idea what the consequence will be, and it will be horrible, horrible health care, where you wait on line for weeks to even see a doctor. But we're going to expand, tax-free health savings account. The HSA is to increase health care coverage, getting Washington out of the way and giving more control and funding back to the States. Stabilizing exchanges, so that those pre-existing conditions are protected. You know, you listen to Schumer and before he even knew what the plan said, he didn't see it, most of the people in this room never saw it, and he was saying death.

Donald Trump

00:05:37 - 00:05:58 (21 sec)

Everyone's going to die. Death. Death, that that's the only thing they're good at -- and this is a great plan. This isn't just a good plan. This is far better than Obamacare and more generous than Obamacare. Saving Medicaid, which is on an unsustainable path, and lets states spend those dollars freely.

Donald Trump

00:05:58 - 00:06:27 (29 sec)

So the states are going to be able to spend the dollars and, as a smaller entity, the states will be able to take better care of a person with a bad back, with a bad prono... prognosis. With a problem. I like the federal government to focus on the Middle East, to focus on North Korea, to focus on things where we have very big problems.

Donald Trump

00:06:27 - 00:06:45 (18 sec)

The states can do a better job than the federal government when it comes to health care, and that's what we're letting you do. And we're committing $45 billion to help combat the opioid epidemic, and some states in particular, like that.

Donald Trump

00:06:45 - 00:07:21 (36 sec)

So my message today is really simple: we have to stay here, we shouldn't leave town and we should hammer this out and get it done. And not just to repeal. Hey, it was sort of early on ,along with a few of the other folks at the table. The repeal was fine. I was with... but we want to get more than. I think the people of this country need more than a repeal. They need a repeal and a replace, and we were very, very close, and then little things happened, but now we're very close again. We have to get it there.

Donald Trump

00:07:21 - 00:07:39 (18 sec)

Now, with John Cornyn, the other night, we had a couple of things that we put down on paper. I'm just gonna read them really fast, but these are some of the things that have done, because the Democrats are always selling their plan, but they don't do that anymore. They don't talk about Obamacare anymore, because they can't, because it's failed. They know it.

Donald Trump

00:07:39 - 00:08:25 (46 sec)

So they're selling their plan, and we never sell our plan. If we're weak on anything, it's on letting people know how good it was. So we wrote down these few things. Repeals the individual mandate. How big is that? Where people are paying not to have insurance, nobody ever talks about that. Repeals job-killing employer mandate. How big is that? Will substantially lower premiums -- and remember this: cross country lines, cross state lines where you have... where it's almost impossible for insurance companies to compete in different states.

Donald Trump

00:08:25 - 00:08:39 (14 sec)

We can't, because of unfortunately, the 60 votes, but that here, but it's going to come very soon, we're putting it in a popular bill and that will come. And that will come. And your premiums will be down 60 and 70 percent. People don't know that.

Donald Trump

00:08:39 - 00:08:59 (20 sec)

Nobody hears it, nobody talks about it, but your premiums are going to... we're going to have the cross state lines knocked out. and you'll have insurance companies bidding. You'll have forms of insurance that you don't even know about right now, because that's the way it works. There's going to be tremendous competition.

Donald Trump

00:08:59 - 00:09:19 (20 sec)

So your premiums will be substantially lower. Repeals burdensome taxes. Bing. Will restore choices. The bill also provides for expanded coverage opt.. the options. So you can have a tremendously expanded coverage and options. Will stabilize insurance markets.

Donald Trump

00:09:19 - 00:09:43 (24 sec)

The markets, right now by the way, are gone. They're a mess and, depending on what happens here, depending what happens over the next couple of weeks, the insurance companies are all fleeing. Will protect pre-existing condition coverage. You listen to the Democrats. They say, oh they're giving up... you're gonna have better pre-existing than they had in their plan. And you're going to be protected.

Donald Trump

00:09:43 - 00:10:14 (31 sec)

Will allow the use of pre-tax dollars to pay premiums. Will expand the HSAs. Will devote substantial resources to fight opioid and other substance abuse. Will provide better coverage for low-income Americans. By the way, low-income Americans, under our plan and we're doing things at this meeting, which I think you'll be very happy about, because we're going to spend some more money to make sure everybody is protected.

Donald Trump

00:10:14 - 00:10:29 (15 sec)

Will provide better coverage for low-income Americans. Will improve medical outcomes for low-income Americans. Puts Medicaid on a sustainable path, which it's not on right now. Levels the playing field for states when it comes to federal dollars.

Donald Trump

00:10:29 - 00:10:51 (22 sec)

Reforms major entitlements, now a principal driver of the $20 trillion debt that we have. And will redirect authority from Washington DC to the states, which I've already said, where they can innovate and develop the best practices and, on a smaller basis, they'll, be able to take care of people better.

Donald Trump

00:10:51 - 00:11:11 (20 sec)

So we can repeal, but we should repeal and replace, and we shouldn't leave town until this is complete, until this bill is on my desk, and until we all go over to the Oval Office. I'll sign it, and we can celebrate for the American people. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you.