Former South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg told an illegal immigrant on Sunday that as president he would make “Obamacare” available to her.
“As you know, the Affordable Care Act, one of the many missing pieces that it has is that the exchanges are not available to the undocumented,” Buttigieg said.
“I would change that, and that would be a change that would come with the ‘Medicare-for-All-Who-Want-It’ plan that I am proposing,” he added.
During a discussion as the 2020 Democratic contender campaigned in Nevada, Buttigieg said he viewed the illegal immigrant as an American, despite her status.
“So, first of all, this should go without saying but it’s important to say out loud that I regard you and all DACA recipients as American as I am or anybody else is in this room,” he .
In December, Buttigieg also said in Spanish that he would open up taxpayer-funded healthcare to illegal immigrants.
“So the most important thing for me is that we offer the opportunity for health care to all in our country, and this includes the opportunity to buy this plan of Medicare-for-All-who-want-it,” he said, according to a translation of his remarks.
“That is our solution. And this opportunity to buy this plan is for everyone regardless of their immigration status.”
As a law, Obamacare — a.k.a. the Affordable Care Act — may not be around by November. A federal appeals court in December struck it down as unconstitutional over it’s individual mandate requirement.
“By a 2-1 vote, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans agreed with Texas and 17 other red states that the key part of the law is unconstitutional — the provision that requires all Americans to buy insurance or pay a penalty on their income tax,” NBC News reported.