Mick Mulvaney: Obamacare Made Insurance Policies, Not Coverage, Affordable

Obamacare made insurance itself affordable, but left Americans unable to afford their healthcare, White House budget chief Mick Mulvaney said Tuesday.

"The deductibles were simply too high," Mulvaney, who appeared on several early morning television programs, told NBC's "Today" show. 

"People could say they have coverage, but they couldn't actually get the medical care they needed when they got sick . . . what people are getting here is access to coverage."

Mulvaney, who heads the White House Office of Management and Budget, said he expects the replacement bill unveiled by House Republicans on Monday will pass the House by Easter before heading to the Senate.

Mulvaney called Obamacare an "unmitigated disaster," and told the "Today" show that it is not fair to compare the new measure, the "American Health Care Act" to the promises made by Barack Obama's healthcare law, the Affordable Care Act.

"I don't think it's fair to want to compare what we're proposing to what Obamacare might have been," Mulvaney said. "You have to compare it to what Obamacare is, and it's a failure. By that comparison, this program is going to be a great success."

Further, Mulvaney said that the new bill means Americans will have access to the coverage they don't have now, when asked if the new measure will mean all Americans will be covered.

Mulvaney said the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has not yet analyzed the cost for the GOP's proposal, but the measure will "save a dramatic amount of money" and the costs will be known before votes are cast.

However, he told "CBS This Morning" that he is sure the GOP plan will bring "tremendous long-term savings, as it gives more control for Medicaid back to the states, saving the federal government money it spends on the program.

One of the key changes from Obamacare will be to eliminate the government's mandate for coverage and replacing it with a penalty for allowing coverage to lapse.

"One of the problems with Obamacare now is that you can wait to buy insurance until after you get sick," said Mulvaney. "What we try and do is give people incentives to go off and say, look, if you're really worried about that, go up and sign now, make sure you can prove that you have continuous coverage. If you do get sick, you can't lose your coverage."

By doing that, the new plan encourages younger, healthier people to get and maintain coverage, Mulvaney said.

Mulvaney, also on Fox News' "Fox & Friends," said he is confident for the bill's success, as Republicans have wanted to give states more control over Medicaid dollars for many years.

"That drives tremendous long-term savings," said Mulvaney. "Not only do we think this is a way to give people healthcare that they can afford, it also helps our long-term debt situation."

He also believes there will be enough Republican support for the bill, including from President Donald Trump, despite some who have derided it as "Obamacare Lite."

"This is the Obamacare replacement plan that everybody asked for," he told Fox News. "It's the Obamacare replacement plan [Trump] promised when he ran."

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