The way that Democrats sold the Affordable Care Act was "mendacious," according to CNN's Jake Tapper, who on Thursday listed a litany of misleading statements that were used to promote the bill before its passage.
Tapper's comments came during an interview with Democratic Rep. Steve Israel (N.Y.) and conservative economist Stephen Moore after the House passed the American Health Care Act, the Republican plan to replace Obamacare.
Tapper challenged Israel during the segment by asking him about misleading statements Democrats made in 2009 and 2010 to support Obamacare.
"They [voters] were told if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. If you like your plan, you can keep your plan," Tapper said, recalling former President Obama's infamous claim, which PolitiFact labeled its "lie of the year" in 2013. "That's not true."
"It's just empirically evident out there that insurance companies are leaving Obamacare exchanges, leaving voters, consumers with fewer options, not greater options," Tapper added.
Several health insurers have left the Obamacare exchanges since the bill was passed, including just this week. Aetna pulled out of Virginia's Obamacare exchanges on Wednesday, and Medica announced it would likely do the same in Iowa.
"Do you think the Democrats, in the way they sold this bill to the public, really undermined their own credibility on the issue of health care?" Tapper asked Israel.
"Well, Jake, look, let's stipulate that Obamacare is far from perfect," Israel said, "that there were some significant flaws in its execution, including a website that went down."
"I didn't even remember that one!" Tapper interjected, remembering the failure of Healthcare.gov to launch on time.