Donald Trump gives rambling and confused explanation of how health insurance works

Donald Trump appears not to know how much health insurance costs or how it works.

Despite declaring to Republican senators that he is ready to sign a healthcare bill, the President has demonstrated a shaky understanding of the legislation he is pushing and the healthcare industry he wants to reform.

In an interview with The New York Times, Mr Trump said, “So pre-existing conditions are a tough deal. Because you are basically saying from the moment the insurance, you’re 21 years old, you start working and you’re paying $12 a year for insurance, and by the time you’re 70, you get a nice plan.”

The notion of paying $12 a year for health insurance is even less than the $15 per month amount he suggested in an interview with The Economist earlier this year.

“Insurance is, you’re 20 years old, you just graduated from college, and you start paying $15 a month for the rest of your life and by the time you’re 70, and you really need it, you’re still paying the same amount and that’s really insurance,” he said in the May interview.

The average monthly premium for people buying their own insurance was $235.27 in 2013, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, with a high of $473.17 in New Jersey and a low of $157.97 in Utah.

The organisation also reports that in 2015, about half of the US population received employer-sponsored coverage. Meanwhile, 20 per cent received coverage through Medicaid, a health insurance programme for the poor.

While Mr Trump has been active in the negotiation process with Congress, he often tweets and makes statements that seem at odds with the facts of the healthcare debate.

His predecessor, former Democratic President Barack Obama, took on numerous town halls, press conferences and interviews where he was asked about the ins and outs of his bill, the Affordable Care Act, more colloquially known as Obamacare. But Mr Trump, on the other hand, hasn't allowed himself to be grilled on his policy to the same extent.