Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump said he'd use Medicaid to expand insurance coverage, and supports making birth control available without a prescription, reports Bloomberg.
His comments were made during an hour-long interview on The Doctor Oz Show taped Wednesday. During the interview, Mr. Trump said he backs the use of Medicaid to help provide health coverage for those who can't afford to purchase plans from private health insurers, according to the article.
"We have to help them through the Medicaid system," Mr. Trump told Mehmet Oz, MD, the host of the television show. "People have said that's not the right thing to say. But there is a fairly large percentage who can't afford it."
A spokesman for Mr. Trump's campaign, Jason Miller, clarified the comments in an email to Bloomberg, saying the presidential candidate had not proposed Medicaid expansion.
"Mr. Trump has been consistent on this issue since he announced his campaign — he believes that Medicaid should be used as a safety net for the poor to ensure that nobody in America falls through the cracks," Jason Miller said in the email.
Mr. Trump has been vocal about wanting to repeal the Affordable Care Act, under which many states have expanded Medicaid.
As for birth control, Mr. Trump said some women can't get to a physician's office to get a birth control prescription, and they shouldn't have to, according to the report.
"I would say it should not be done by prescription," Mr. Trump, who is pro-life, said. "You have women who just aren't in a position to get a prescription."
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