Sec. Price: AHCA Will 'Provide Coverage for Every American'

The version of the American Health Care Act passed by the House on Thursday is one that "will provide coverage for every American," Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price promised Friday morning.

"It will do so in a way that allows them to select the kind of coverage they want," Price told Fox News' "Fox and Friends" program.

"Patients and families and doctors are back in charge of health care, not Washington, D.C. The choices that patients are going to be able to have to select the kind of coverage that they want for themselves and for their family as opposed to what Washington forces them to buy are going to be significant."

The bill also ensures that people with preexisting condition will be covered, and President Donald Trump has made that commitment, Price said.

"This bill passed through the House yesterday will make certain that is the case," said Price.

Obamacare is collapsing in several states, Price said, with insurance companies pulling out and premiums climbing by double-digit percentages including in Maryland, where premiums are expected to climb by 60 percent.

As a result, many Americans can't afford medical coverage, and people who can get a insurance card can't afford the care because deductibles are too high under Obamacare.

"People are being harmed right now by the current system," Price said. "That is what the president won't tolerate. That is what we won't tolerate. That is what individuals in Congress who recognize this situation needs to be changed and improved are trying to act upon."

The bill goes next to the Senate, and Price said he is urging senators on both sides of the aisle to be involved in the process

Price said Trump was also vital in pushing the bill through, saying he was engaged in "personal ways, more than any president I worked with...it is for the American people. That's what he understands."

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