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President Obama said Thursday he will let Americans renew for one year any health plans that do not meet Obamacare’s coverage standards — a stark attempt to quell the political firestorm around his broken promise that those who like their insurance coverage can keep it under his signature law.
“I completely get how upsetting this can be for a lot of Americans, particularly after assurances they heard from me that if they had a plan they like, they can keep it,” Mr. Obama said, addressing the nation from the White House press briefing room. “To those Americans: I hear you loud and clear. I said I would do everything we can to fix this problem and today I’m offering an idea that will help do it.”
SEE ALSO: Only 106,000: Obamacare enrollment falls far short of goal
The announcement marked a clear change of course for the White House, which as recently as two weeks ago still was claiming that Americans were aware all along, or should have been aware, that their insurance policies could be canceled because they don’t comply with Obamacare’s standards.
Pressure had been mounting from key Democrats, including former President Bill Clinton, who urged the president to stick to his word and step in and stop forced insurance cancellations.
In response to that pressure and to growing reports of Americans losing their coverage, the Obama administration will direct insurers to offer the one-year renewal to millions of customers who received cancellation notices because their existing plans did not offer the type of baseline protections outlined in the Affordable Care Act.
Senior administration officials said Mr. Obama — who recently apologized to people who thought they could keep their plans, based on his oft-repeated vow — directed his team to come up with a fix, as pressure mounted on Capitol Hill to satisfy angry constituents who lost their plans and could not explore alternatives on balky websites tied to Obamacare.
The Obama administration said it has the legal authority and discretion to issue the one-year reprieve, since it serves as a “bridge” while a major law is implemented.
But congressional Republicans disagree.
SEE ALSO: MILLER: Democrats abandon Obama over health care law
Speaking just before Mr. Obama, House Speaker John A. Boehner said he doubted the White House even had the authority to do what it was calling for.
“I am highly skeptical that they can do this administratively. I just don’t see within the law their ability to do that,” the Ohio Republican said.
The administration pitched the fix as a transitional reprieve, even if consumers will be dropped once again next year, because they believe the Obamcare marketplace will work and offer a “robust” selection of affordable alternatives.
However, the administration placed a pair of conditions on insurers who offer the renewals.
They must detail for consumers what their renewed coverage does not cover, an allusion to Mr. Obama’s assertion that these plans offer bare-bones coverage.
Also, they must make consumers aware of state-run and federally facilitated Obamacare markets where they can search for higher-level health coverage, often with the help of income-based government subsidies. Some of these people may find out they qualify for Medicaid, senior administration officials said.
During the first month of activity, about 106,000 Americans enrolled in Obamacare’s health care exchanges and fewer than 27,000 of those were from the federally run exchanges, the administration said Wednesday.
“I completely get how upsetting this can be for a lot of Americans, particularly after assurances they heard from me that if they had a plan they like, they can keep it,” Mr. Obama said, addressing the nation from the White House press briefing room. “To those Americans: I hear you loud and clear. I said I would do everything we can to fix this problem and today I’m offering an idea that will help do it.”
SEE ALSO: Only 106,000: Obamacare enrollment falls far short of goal
The announcement marked a clear change of course for the White House, which as recently as two weeks ago still was claiming that Americans were aware all along, or should have been aware, that their insurance policies could be canceled because they don’t comply with Obamacare’s standards.
Pressure had been mounting from key Democrats, including former President Bill Clinton, who urged the president to stick to his word and step in and stop forced insurance cancellations.
In response to that pressure and to growing reports of Americans losing their coverage, the Obama administration will direct insurers to offer the one-year renewal to millions of customers who received cancellation notices because their existing plans did not offer the type of baseline protections outlined in the Affordable Care Act.
Senior administration officials said Mr. Obama — who recently apologized to people who thought they could keep their plans, based on his oft-repeated vow — directed his team to come up with a fix, as pressure mounted on Capitol Hill to satisfy angry constituents who lost their plans and could not explore alternatives on balky websites tied to Obamacare.
The Obama administration said it has the legal authority and discretion to issue the one-year reprieve, since it serves as a “bridge” while a major law is implemented.
But congressional Republicans disagree.
SEE ALSO: MILLER: Democrats abandon Obama over health care law
Speaking just before Mr. Obama, House Speaker John A. Boehner said he doubted the White House even had the authority to do what it was calling for.
“I am highly skeptical that they can do this administratively. I just don’t see within the law their ability to do that,” the Ohio Republican said.
The administration pitched the fix as a transitional reprieve, even if consumers will be dropped once again next year, because they believe the Obamcare marketplace will work and offer a “robust” selection of affordable alternatives.
However, the administration placed a pair of conditions on insurers who offer the renewals.
They must detail for consumers what their renewed coverage does not cover, an allusion to Mr. Obama’s assertion that these plans offer bare-bones coverage.
Also, they must make consumers aware of state-run and federally facilitated Obamacare markets where they can search for higher-level health coverage, often with the help of income-based government subsidies. Some of these people may find out they qualify for Medicaid, senior administration officials said.
During the first month of activity, about 106,000 Americans enrolled in Obamacare’s health care exchanges and fewer than 27,000 of those were from the federally run exchanges, the administration said Wednesday.
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