WASHINGTON -- Most Republicans want to scrap the Affordable Care Act in its entirety and start over. Famed neurosurgeon and presidential candidate Ben Carson, however, says the law must be replaced with a viable alternative before it is repealed.
"There’s no question it needs to be replaced before you repeal it,” Carson said Monday during a presidential forum at St. Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire.
The presidential hopeful called the health care law "completely antithetical of the principles" of the Founding Fathers, and instead called for replacing it "with something that really puts the power back in the hands of consumers and providers."
Carson said he supports creating health savings accounts to which pre-tax funds can be contributed, allowing consumers to shift amounts around within their family.
More than five years since the law's passage, Republicans in Congress have failed to coalesce around a single proposal to replace it and have held more than 50 votes to repeal it.
The neurosurgeon's rhetoric on Obamacare was relatively tame during the forum, which was also attended by 11 other Republicans running for president. He previously called the law the worst thing "since slavery."
Carson also attacked Planned Parenthood in the wake of several controversial videos showing the organization's employees speaking about fetal tissue research.
"If depraved individuals want abortion, let them reach in their own pocket and pay other depraved individuals to help 'em," he said.