Mediaboss Marketing

President Donald Trump turns to the audience behind him as he finishes speaking at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center in Harrisburg, Pa., Saturday, April, 29, 2017. CREDIT: AP/Carolyn Kaster

In an interview with Face The Nations John Dickerson that aired Sunday, it appeared that President Donald Trump did not fully understand what was in the latest version of the Republican health care bill.

When Dickerson pushed Trump to acknowledge why there are critics of the bill, noting higher premiums for older people, Trump interrupted him to say that issue was fixed. Throughout the interview, Trump insisted that the latest version of the bill addressed all of the problems Dickerson mentioned, even though the bill has only become worse for low-income people, older people and people with pre-existing conditions.

When Dickerson asked Trump explain to how higher premiums were fixed under the new health care bill, he didnt have an answer.

Finally, after being pressed several times, Trump responded, This bill has evolvedBut we have now pre-existing conditions in the bill. We haveweve set up a pool for the pre-existing conditions so that the premiums can be allowed to fall. Were talking across all of the borders or the lines so that insurance companies can compete.

When Dickerson pointed out there wasnt any mention of purchasing insurance across state lines in the current legislation, Trump said, Of course, its in.

It isnt clear what Trump means when he claims that pre-existing conditions are in the bill. In fact, Republicans gutted protections for people with pre-existing conditions last week. On Tuesday, Republican leaders proposed an amendment to the latest version of the legislation that would raise premiums by thousands of dollars for people with pre-existing conditions and thus make health care unaffordable for many Americans.

Thats why it was so puzzling that Trump insisted pre-existing conditions were covered beautifully.

Journalists and health care experts, such as Andy Slavitt, the former acting administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, all pointed out that the president doesnt seem to be familiar with his partys current plan or how it functions.

Trump quickly tried to pivot away from taking about the GOP-sponsored legislation and back to the current health law. Ill tell you who doesnt cover pre-existing conditions. Obamacare. You know why? Its dead, Trump said.

When Dickerson continued to push Trump to acknowledge the MacArthur Amendment, which essentially eliminates coverage for people with pre-existing conditions, Trump said, Its not going to be here.

Despite Trumps insistence that he wasnt interested in a deadline for the bill, the White House pushed for a vote on the health care bill last week to secure a legislative victory for the president in his first 100 days. But with the latest changes to protections for people with pre-existing conditions, there was enough opposition from moderate Republicans for GOP leaders to say they were not confident they had the votes to pass it.

More here:
Donald Trump doesn't know anything about the health care bill he's pushing - ThinkProgress