GOP presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he will “replace and supersede” Obamacare if elected, weighing in on a debate recently reignited by former President Donald Trump – and one President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign has sought to use to its advantage. 

“We're going to have a plan,” DeSantis declared in an interview on NBC’s "Meet the Press" on Sunday. “It’s going to supersede Obamacare. It's going to be much better for people.”

DeSantis also sought to hit Trump, the current GOP presidential frontrunner, for “running on things that he didn't do,” after the former president fell short of repealing the sweeping Obama-era health care bill called the Affordable Care Act when he occupied the White House. 

“I think it's important to point out, he's running on a lot of the things he campaigned on in 2016 and didn't deliver on, whether it's repeal and replace Obamacare, whether it's building the border wall, whether it's draining the swamp,” DeSantis said. 

Since entering the presidential contest widely seen as Trump's largest threat, the Florida governor has struggled to close in on the former president who holds a large lead in polls. Recent polling shows former Ambassador to the United Nations and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has surpassed DeSantis for the number two slot in the key early primary state of New Hampshire as Haley’s campaign gains steam. 

But when pressed about what his “better plan” for health care would look like, DeSantis gave few details, saying he will “roll out a big proposal” likely in the spring. 

“What I think they're going to need to do is have a plan that will supersede Obamacare, that will lower prices for people so that they can afford healthcare while also making sure that people with preexisting conditions are protected,” he said. “And we're going to look at the big institutions that are causing prices to be high: Big Pharma, big insurance, and big government.” 

The Florida governor added that Americans pay more for drugs “than anybody else in the world.”

“I'd like to see some equity across these developed countries, so that our consumers are getting relief,” he said. 

Despite GOP efforts to do away with the law largely quieting in the years since Trump’s unsuccessful attempt, the debate found new life after the former president noted last weekend the law could be on the chopping block again should he win back the White House. 

“The cost of Obamacare is out of control, plus, it’s not good Healthcare. I’m seriously looking at alternatives,” Trump wrote in a post on his social media site Truth Social. 

Amid the attention on his comment, Trump clarified that he doesn’t want to “terminate” the law, but wants to "replace" the landmark health care legislation.

Trump’s comment sparked a rapid response from the Biden-Harris 2024 campaign, which sent a flurry of emails warning about the impacts of the bill being repealed and calling on former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to host a press call on the topic with North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper. 

Appearing to believe the issue will work in its favor, Biden’s campaign sought to make Trump and other Republicans’ pledges to repeal the law front-and-center last week, including launching a TV ad running the gamut of battleground states. DeSantis' comment over the weekend is likely to give the Biden campaign another point to highlight on the issue. 

On Monday, the White House continued that effort, releasing a memo listing what it says would be the impacts of repealing the Affordable Care Act and Biden’s signature Inflation Reduction Act passed last year. 

According to the White House, millions of people could see their premiums increased and lose access to substance use treatment, mental health and free preventative care. 

“Even though a record number of Americans now have coverage thanks to President Biden’s effective management of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and even though President Biden now has Medicare at the negotiating table with pharmaceutical companies working to lower drug costs, congressional Republicans are continuing their fight to tear those life-changing benefits away from families, while also fighting to give big corporations and the wealthy new tax welfare,” the memo reads.

The health care law, which helps cover more than 40 million Americans, according to the Department of Health and Human Services, has become popular for policies such as allowing people to stay on their parents insurance until 26 and adding protections for people with pre-existing medical conditions.