Committee to Protect Health Care: Over 1500 physicians urge Trump to share ACA plan, not just “concepts”

VIRTUAL – With just 18 days until Election Day, former President Donald Trump has refused to share his plan for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) if he is elected again. When pressed for details about how he’d change this landmark law during the presidential debate on September 10, Mr. Trump said he had “concepts of a plan.” 

Now, more than 1,500 physicians across the country with the Committee to Protect Health Care have released a letter urging the former president to share his actual plan for the ACA, saying, “the clock is ticking.” Today, three of the signing physicians held a virtual press call to share why it’s so critical for their patients that the ACA be protected, and why it is vital for former President Trump to share with voters whether and how he would do so.

“Our patients, and all Americans, deserve more than just a ‘concept of a plan,’ because concepts don’t pay for medical bills,” said Dr. Rob Davidson, Executive Director of the Committee and an emergency physician in west Michigan. “As physicians, we see the benefits of access to health care first hand. Our patients are more likely to get regular checkups, which allows their doctors to catch a medical condition early. Patients with health care are more likely to see a doctor when they feel sick or get injured, instead of waiting until a condition worsens and treatment becomes more complicated and more expensive. People with chronic conditions like diabetes and asthma are better able to manage their condition, improving their quality of life and overall health outcomes. The clock is ticking, Mr. Trump, and Americans and their doctors deserve to know whether you have an actual plan that will keep Americans safe, healthy and secure.”

The letter was signed by over 115 doctors in Michigan, 110 doctors in Pennsylvania, and 100 doctors in Wisconsin.

“Trump’s running mate, JD Vance, has indicated recently that Republicans would try to pursue a, quote, ‘deregulatory agenda’ that, among other things, would not place people ‘into the same insurance pools’,” said Dr. Max Cooper, an emergency physician in southeastern Pennsylvania and Co-Pennsylvania Lead for the Committee. “In other words, they would take away protections for people with preexisting conditions and put them into so-called high-risk pools. Putting people into high-risk pools will take us back to the bad old days when insurance companies could discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions like diabetes and asthma and even pregnancy. I fear that my patients will be sicker, poorer and more vulnerable without the protections of the ACA – and that’s why I’m joining more than 1500 of my fellow physicians in demanding Donald Trump give Americans details of his health care plan because in many cases, their lives will depend on it.”

“I have seen patients before and after the ACA became law – and the benefits are life changing,” said Dr. Ann Helms, a Milwaukee neurologist and the Wisconsin Lead for the Committee. “Unfortunately, whatever gains Americans have made in health outcomes are at risk because of Donald Trump’s mission to repeal and replace the ACA. So when Donald Trump claims he has concepts of a health care plan, all of us – Americans, medical professionals, members of the media – must hold him accountable and demand he show us his health care plan. The clock is ticking and Americans deserve to know that they’ll still be able to see a doctor no matter who’s in the White House.”

About the Committee to Protect Health Care

The Committee to Protect Health Care is a national mobilization of doctors, health care professionals, and advocates who are building a pro-patient health care majority in Congress and in states so that we can live in an America where everyone has the health care they need to thrive. To learn more: www.committeetoprotect.org