The president said he had asked his staff to see whether there was an administrative fix to preserve insurance for some Americans who may have lost their coverage and do not qualify for subsidies that would make new policies affordable.
“I’ve assigned my team to see what we can do to close some of the holes and gaps in the law,” he said, “because, you know, my intention is to lift up and make sure the insurance that people buy is effective — that it’s actually going to deliver what they think they’re purchasing.”
A White House official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the president’s policy team has been investigating the possibility of an administrative solution since the problem surfaced as a significant issue late last month.
The problem has arisen for those who buy insurance on the individual marketplace, a number that totals between 12 million and 15 million people. About half of those are probably being adversely affected by the Affordable Care Act, the aide said.
Presidents rarely say “I’m sorry” in public, even when acknowledging missteps. Obama’s most recent unvarnished apology came in February of last year when he told Afghan President Hamid Karzai that he was sorry for the involvement of U.S. service members in the burning of copies of the Koran, an incident that provoked widespread protest in the country at a delicate time in the war and in his own reelection campaign.
Thursday’s apology, coming at a time when the president and his administration are under intense criticism over the rollout of the health-care law, highlights the extent to which it has become a political liability for the White House. On Tuesday, President Obama’s approval rating dipped below 40 percent for the first time in two years, according to a daily tracking poll by Gallup.
The fact that Obama had said repeatedly that insured Americans would not have to change plans has become a new line of attack for congressional Republicans and an Internet meme, as news organizations have strung together video clips of the president’s comments on the subject over the past four years.
In a speech before the American Medical Association in June 2009, for instance, Obama said: “If you like your health-care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health-care plan, period. No one will take it away, no matter what.”
The disconnect between Obama’s assurances and the reality for some consumers emerged last month as a flood of people learned that they could not keep plans they had signed up for on the individual market. Although this group represents a small fraction of the total number of insured Americans — about 5 percent — their stories garnered national attention and provided fodder to opponents of the law.
Loading...
Comments