--- title: Donald Trump Just Praised Australia's Universal Health Care description: President Donald Trump told Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull that the Australians “have better health care than we do.” canonical: https://time.com/4768359/donald-trump-health-care-australia/ author: Feliz Solomon article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-05-05T02:29:50.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T04:46:18.076Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump Just Praised Australia's Universal Health Care System og:description: "You have better health care than we do" og:url: https://time.com/4768359/donald-trump-health-care-australia/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt59ad625727a2dc29/6988cc19cd1bba6fdf70510c/gettyimages-678793400.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: US-AUSTRALIA-TRUMP-TURNBULL og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump Just Praised Australia's Universal Health Care System twitter:description: "You have better health care than we do" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt59ad625727a2dc29/6988cc19cd1bba6fdf70510c/gettyimages-678793400.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Australia Has a Universal Health Care System. Trump Says It's 'Better' Than What Americans Have by [Feliz Solomon](https://time.com/author/feliz-solomon/) ## Feliz Solomon May 5, 2017 2:29 AM UTC  Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and U.S. President Donald Trump in New York on May 4, 2017. Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and U.S. President Donald Trump in New York on May 4, 2017.Brendan Smialowski—AFP/Getty Images by [Feliz Solomon](https://time.com/author/feliz-solomon/) ## Feliz Solomon May 5, 2017 2:29 AM UTC President Donald Trump praised Australia’s universal health care system Thursday, telling Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull that, “you have better healthcare than we do.” Trump’s comments, made during a joint press conference with Turnbull in New York, came shortly after the GOP’s second attempt at a health care reform bill was narrowly passed by the Republican-controlled House. > [](https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/860288221472804865) The bill, designed to repeal and replace former President Barack Obama’s signature Affordable Care Act, now faces a [tough audience in the Senate](http://time.com/4767856/health-care-vote-senate-republicans-mitch-mcconnell/?xid=homepage), where some GOP lawmakers are hesitant to support the measure before their re-election bids. Critics say the current version is likely to significantly reduce coverage and cost medical workers jobs. Senator Bernie Sanders[ laughed out loud](https://twitter.com/nick%5Framsey/status/860295287230935044) when he heard Trump’s comment to Turnbull. “The President has just said it, that’s great,” Sanders told MSNBC’s Chris Hayes. “Let us move to a medicare for all system that does what every major country on earth does: guarantee health care to all people at a fraction of the cost per capita,” Sanders said. “Thank you Mr. President, we’ll quote you on the floor of the senate.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4768359/donald-trump-health-care-australia/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4768359/donald-trump-health-care-australia/"},"headline":"Australia Has a Universal Health Care System. 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