Trump Is Not to Be Trusted on Pre-Existing Conditions

President Donald Trump keeps on saying he’ll protect people with pre-existing health conditions even if he succeeds in killing the Affordable Care Act — and, oddly enough, quite a few people appear to believe him. Yet he has no plan for an alternative to the ACA, and he hasn’t said how he means to keep his promise to protect those at risk.

Safeguarding people with pre-existing conditions demands more than vague pledges. It requires laws that both regulate and support the health-insurance system — just as the ACA has done for several years. It also involves an inescapable trade-off, because protecting the most vulnerable means higher costs. The president refuses to address the issue seriously. As on many other matters, he is not to be trusted.