Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said Thursday that if elected he will offer healthcare "plans that you don't even know about. It's going to be great."
Speaking on "The Dr. Oz Show," which was taped Wednesday, Trump blasted the Affordable Care Act as a failure and said there should be more competition in the insurance market. He said poor people should be taken care of by Medicaid and should not be "dying in the streets." At one point, he seemed to suggest that he supported an expansion of Medicaid, but he did not offer any details. The campaign later clarified that Trump was not proposing an expansion.
The show's host, Dr. Mehmet Oz—who has been criticized by many other doctors for promoting homeopathy and giving questionable health advice—asked what Trump would put in place of the ACA after repealing it. Trump answered mostly by criticizing the ACA for offering plans with premiums and deductibles that are too high. He said cheaper, better plans needed to be developed, but did not give any further details.
He had promised in an economic policy speech in Detroit last month that he would offer more details on his healthcare plan, which currently consists of a brief seven-point recitation of standard Republican proposals on his campaign website. Some outlets reported he would share some details on the Oz show, but so far he has not delivered any details.
Trump, who told Oz he is pro-life, said birth control pills should be available without a prescription. He is not the first Republican to suggest making birth control available over the counter, even though the Republican Party platform approved earlier this year opposes that. Critics say making contraceptive methods available over the counter would impose higher costs on women, since OTC drugs and products generally aren't covered by health plans.
Trump said he had not previously released his personal medical information because he didn't think it was necessary. While he thinks his medical information is "very private stuff," he said people running for president "have an obligation to be healthy,” he said.
Trump showed Oz a letter from his doctor, Dr. Harold Bornstein, and a one-page listing of his health statistics. Oz said the numbers showed normal liver and thyroid function, normal results from a recent EKG and chest X-Ray and good cholesterol levels.
"If a patient of mine had these records, I'd be really happy, and I'd send them on their way," Oz said.
On Wednesday, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton released much more detailed information about her personal health, including recent test results and the medications she's taking, such as Armor Thyroid, coumadin, Levaquin (temporarily), Clarinex and B-12 as needed.
Clinton's recent diagnosis of pneumonia and a fainting spell, which kept her off the campaign trail for a few days, prompted increased scrutiny of the candidates' health.
Oz noted that Trump's medical report, listing him as 6-foot-3 and 236 pounds—previous news reports put him at 267—showed that he's overweight and nears the clinical definition of obese. Trump said he has been at least a little overweight for most of his life, and he would like to lose about 15 pounds.
Trump said that although at the age of 70 he would be the oldest president in history, he feels "as good today as I did when I was 30." He said he hasn't stayed in a hospital since he had his appendix removed when he was 11.
He said he gets exercise from speaking to large groups of people while campaigning. "When I'm speaking in front of 15 and 20,000 people and I'm up there using a lot of motion, I guess in it's own way, it's a pretty healthy act. I really enjoy doing it. A lot of times these rooms are very hot, like saunas, and I guess that is a form of exercise and, you know?"
Trump said his mother lived nearly to 90 and his father died at 93. There was no immediate family history of cancer or heart disease. His father appeared to have Alzheimer's disease in the last few years of his life.
Oz said Clinton has also been invited on the show but has not indicated whether she will appear.
