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November 14, 2016 at 09:45 AM
(Bloomberg) —President-elect Donald Trump reversed himself on completely eliminating the Affordable Care Act, President Barack Obama’s signature health law, saying instead he would keep two popular features and pledged no gap in coverage as it’s replaced.
In an interview with Lesley Stahl to air Sunday on “60 Minutes,” Trump said he would like to keep the portions of the law requiring coverage of pre-existing conditions and children living at home under the age of 26, according to excerpts of the interview released by CBS News.
The ban on insurers denying coverage to individuals who are sick “happens to be one of the strongest assets,” of the Affordable Care Act, Trump said. He acknowledged that keeping the provision allowing children to stay on their parents’ plans for a period of time “adds cost, but it’s very much something we’re going to try and keep.”
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The president-elect said he plans to repeal the law, commonly known as Obamacare, and replace it new regulations “simultaneously.”
“I know how to do this stuff,” he said. “We’re going to repeal it and replace it. And we’re not going to have, like, a two-day period and we’re not going to have a two-year period where there’s nothing. It will be repealed and replaced. I mean, you’ll know. And it’ll be great health care for much less money.”
Earlier Friday, Trump was quoted in the Wall Street Journal saying that Obama suggested areas of the health law to keep during his Thursday meeting with the President.
Shares dip
Shares of health care companies appeared to have mixed reactions. HCA Holdings, the largest U.S. hospital chain, pared losses to 3.4 percent, from as much as 5.6 percent. Centene Corp., which sells Medicaid and Obamacare plans, closed near its lows of the day, down 8.6 percent.
