Donald Trump has altered his position on Obamacare, a new interview with 60 Minutes reveals. In a dialogue with Leslie Stahl, Trump—who emphasized during his campaign that he would repeal and replace Obamacare immediately upon entering office—said he now intends to keep two significant provisions of the Affordable Care Act that passed in 2010. Trump told Stahl his replacement plan will keep rules that prevent companies from denying coverage to those with pre-existing conditions and will allow young adults to stay on their parents’ insurance plan until the age of 26.
“It adds cost, but it’s very much something we’re going to try and keep,” he said.
The change of plan comes after an earlier interview with the Wall Street Journal, in which Trump said he was reconsidering his position on health care after a lengthy conversation with President Obama, during which the President asked him to rethink his plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
With his decisions to keep two of its key provisions, it’s unclear how exactly Trump’s new healthcare plan will differ from Obamacare. Nevertheless, the healthcare industry is bracing for financial disaster if the Affordable Care Act is repealed, according to the New York Times. If the repealing is successful, insurance companies could lose thousands of customers and emergency rooms could be flooded with uninsured patients seeking treatment. Trump told Leslie Stahl, though, that the repealing and replacing of Obamacare will happen “simultaneously,” and that he thinks the result will be “great healthcare for much less money.”
In the same 60 Minutes interview, the new president-elect also spoke about Hillary Clinton’s concession call to him on the night of the election, and said it was “lovely.”
“It was a tough call for her, I mean, I can imagine,” he said. “Tougher for her than it would have been for me. I mean, for me, it would have been very, very difficult.”
Trump said, “She couldn’t have been nicer. She just said, ‘Congratulations, Donald, well done.’ And I said, ‘I want to thank you very much, you were a great competitor.’ She is very strong and very smart.”
Trump said a few days later he also received a phone call from former President Bill Clinton.
“He couldn’t have been more gracious,” Trump said. “He said it was an amazing run. One of the most amazing he’s ever seen.”
“He said that?” asked Stahl.
“He was very, very, really, very nice,” Trump said.
Just one month before, on Oct. 9, Trump held a “press conference” with four of Bill Clinton’s sexual assault accusers and tried to bring them as guests in the Trump family box during the final presidential debate.
Trump's full 60 Minutes interview will air Sunday, Nov. 13.
