President Trump declared protections for pre-existing illnesses "safe" on Saturday, despite a lawsuit his administration is waging to have them thrown out.
"Pre-existing conditions are safe," Trump said during a rally in Wheeling, W.Va. "Just remember that."
Before the passage of Obamacare, formally known as the Affordable Care Act, health insurers could deny coverage to people who bought insurance from them directly for conditions such as cancer, diabetes, or asthma. They alternatively could refuse to cover medical care associated with that condition or charge sick people more.
Democrats have highlighted these rules during their campaigns ahead of the midterm elections, and slammed the Trump administration and Republican officials who have sought to undo them.
Twenty GOP officials have waged a lawsuit to undo Obamacare. One of the officials is West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, whom Trump was campaigning for in Wheeling.
The GOP officials argue that because Obamacare is about to lose a key provision, namely the individual mandate requiring that people get insurance, the rest of the law must also fall. The GOP tax law enacted in December zeroes out the penalty starting next year, rendering the mandate inoperative.
The Trump administration did not defend the law in court, but rather agreed with the plaintiffs, though it asked to toss only the rules on pre-existing conditions.
Trump did not mention the lawsuit during his speech, but other officials have said that they believe in protections for the conditions in a manner other than Obamacare. Republicans in Congress have insisted they believe the protections should be maintained, but Democrats say that the replacement plans they crafted did not go as far as Obamacare.
"I will always fight for and protect patients with pre-existing conditions," Trump said. "Some people think that's not a Republican thing to do. I don't care. And I'll tell you what, all of the Republicans are coming into that position now. All of them. And we'll do it the right way too."