During the vice presidential debate on CBS News, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) made a misleading claim about former President Donald Trump’s position on pre-existing conditions. Walz asserted that Trump would cancel health coverage for individuals with pre-existing conditions, citing his support for repealing Obamacare.
However, this claim has been thoroughly debunked by fact-checkers in the past. Trump has consistently stated his commitment to protecting coverage for pre-existing conditions, and his administration has proposed alternative plans to achieve this goal.
Walz’s statement was part of a broader defense of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. In a surprising move, he also defended the individual mandate, which requires individuals to purchase health insurance or face a fine. This provision was a contentious aspect of Obamacare and was ultimately repealed by Congress in 2017 under Trump’s administration. The mandate was widely criticized for being difficult to enforce and for placing an undue burden on individuals who could not afford health insurance.
