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The Big Story

Trump talks health care on ‘Meet the Press’

President-elect Trump had his first sit-down broadcast interview since he was reelected last month.

During the interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday night, President-elect Trump repeated claims he made on the campaign trail and gave unclear answers on future abortion restrictions and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Here are a few takeaways from his comments about health care:

Trump still only has ‘concepts of a plan’ to replace Obamacare

Trump spoke briefly about Obamacare, calling it “lousy health care” that is expensive for “the people” and for the country. During his presidential campaign, Trump said he had a “concept of a plan” to replace Obamacare, but he has yet to give any updates on that potential plan.

NBC’s Kristen Welker asked Trump if he finally has a fully developed plan to replace the program, he replied that he still only has “concepts of a plan that would be better” and doesn’t know when he will have a full one.

He refused to commit to keep abortion pills legal

Trump repeatedly took credit for the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade during his reelection campaign while also punting responsibility on future abortion legislation to states. This confusing messaging on abortion continued during “Meet the Press” when Welker asked if he planned to restrict the availability of abortion pills once in office.

Trump said that he did not have plans to restrict abortion pills but also acknowledged that “things change.”

“I’ll probably stay with exactly what I’ve been saying for the last two years. And the answer is no,” he said.

“I mean … things change. I think they change. I hate to go on shows like Joe Biden, ‘I’m not going to give my son a pardon. I will not under any circumstances give him a pardon.’ I watched this and I always knew he was going to give him a pardon,” Trump said.

He suggested Kennedy will investigate vaccine-autism link

During the interview, Trump suggested that he is open to his pick for the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, investigating a long-debunked link between childhood vaccines and autism.

“When you look at some of the problems, when you look at what’s going on with disease and sickness in our country, something’s wrong,” Trump said. “I think somebody has to find out. If you go back 25 years ago, you had very little autism. Now you have it,” he said.

Welcome to The Hill’s Health Care newsletter, we’re Nathaniel Weixeland Alejandra O’connell-Domenech — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health.

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Branch out with a different read from The Hill:

More than 75 Nobel laureates urge Senate to reject RFK Jr.

Seventy-seven Nobel laureates signed a letter urging the Senate to oppose the confirmation of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), The New York Times reported Monday.

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Around the Nation

Local and state headlines on health care:

Georgia said it would fix care for the disabled years ago. It’s still not done (KFF Health News)

Louisiana miscarriage patient who had to cross state lines for a D&C wants answers (States Newsroom)

Planned Parenthood delays abortion appointments as Missouri awaits ruling on restrictions (STLPR)

What We’re Reading

Health news we’ve flagged from other outlets:

LGBTQ+ Americans stockpile meds and make plans to move after Trump’s win (Washington Post)

Spying on student devices, school aims to intercept self-harm before it happens (The New York Times) Age and the new weight-loss drugs (The Washington Post)

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What People Think

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You’re all caught up. See you tomorrow!