Speaking at a forum Friday, former Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber said the Trump administration represents a chance to re-frame the debate on health care.
The Portland City Club forum was entitled "Blue States And Health Care Under President Trump."
But Kitzhaber, a Democrat who resigned amid scandal two years ago, said it would be a mistake to segment into red and blue states.
He said both the Affordable Care Act and one of the main Republican replacement ideas are flawed because they don’t address the underlying reason health care is so expensive.
“Democrats are planning to dig in and protect the ACA at all costs. The Republicans are going to do the opposite," he said. "The opportunity here is to re-frame the debate and say hey, there are real problems with the commercial insurance industry, but the fact of the matter is, unless we reduce the cost of medical inflation, you’re never going to solve the problem."
In a series of three tweets Thursday, President-elect Trump called Obamacare a failure, blamed Democrats and said it’s time Republicans and Democrats work together on a better plan.
