Jonathan Gruber, an MIT economics professor known as the co-architect of Obamacare, blamed President Donald Trump on Sunday for Obamacare's woes.
After Obamacare's passage in 2010, it was Gruber who said it was the "stupidity of the American voter" that allowed the passage of the healthcare law. He explained to "Fox News Sunday" that Trump's election was the cause of Obamacare's problems, The Washington Times reported Sunday.
Fox News host Chris Wallace explained that in Iowa the one insurance company still participating in Obamacare was considering dropping out, which would leave 94 of its 99 counties without an insurer, to which Gruber responded, "Look, and whose fault is this?"
"Wait, you're going to blame the problems with Obamacare on President Trump?" Wallace asked.
"Insurers' profits were trending positively, insurers were saying positive things about their ability to stay in the exchange, to succeed," Gruber said. "Then, you have a president who comes in, undercuts open enrollment, doesn't honor the obligations this law makes to insurers."
Gruber said the result was "premiums are going up and insurers are exiting."
Republican strategist Karl Rove, also appearing on the show, took issue with Gruber's comments about Obamacare, whose lower enrollment and higher costs preceded Trump's election, stating the only thing the president did was stop Obamacare ads from running shortly before the enrollment period would end in January.
"Trump stopped the ads on the 26th of January, and the end of the enrollment period was the 31st," Rove said. "Really? The problems of Obamacare are going to be solved by four days' worth of TV ads?"
"You had a system which was not working perfectly, but it's a system which was very fixable," Gruber responded.
House Republicans on Thursday passed the American Health Care Act in hopes of countering the problems brought about by Obamacare. The Senate is set to review the proposed legislation later this year.
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