In an interview on Meet The Press on Sunday, Trump discussed his opposition to Obamacare, and specifically the health care mandate. He called it a “total and complete disaster. It’s going to be gone.” He goes on to say, vaguely, that he will have a great, private healthcare plan. “Right now, you have no options. You know why? Because the insurance company controls Obama, because they gave him a lot of money. That’s why you have lines around the states. And you can’t get competitive bidding.” View the following clip, starting around the 1:50 mark:
The Obamacare mandate understands the importance of competition in the health insurance sector, and encourages that competition. In addition to the four tiered system available from the healthcare.gov system, all of the previously available private and employer provided insurance options are still available. In many areas, with the creation of healthcare.gov program there are demonstrably more options available to a person seeking insurance today.
A Kaiser Foundation study found that 36% of counties in the study lost options after the act, while 17% gained options. 47% of counties stayed the same. 64% of counties surveyed remained the same or gained insurance options. There are some rural areas where insurance options are limited to two or fewer options, leaving a tiny sliver of truth in what Trump stated.
http://kff.org/health-reform/issue-brief/analysis-of-insurer-participation-in-2016-marketplaces/
http://www.star-telegram.com/news/business/biz-columns-blogs/teresa-mcusic/article43479570.html