Obama, speaking at the White House, again acknowledged shortcomings with the problem-plagued Healthcare.gov insurance exchange website, but said the reform law is already showing successes, especially with the expansion of Medicaid coverage.
“I think it’s fair to say that the roll-out has been rough so far,” he said. “There is no question that if the website were working like it’s supposed to, [early enrollment numbers] would be higher.
“We fumbled the roll-out on this health care law,” Obama said bluntly.
The president’s announcement partly corrects his infamous promise that “If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan,” at least for a year. Insurers will be allowed to offer those plans, many of which do not provide comprehensive coverage, to existing customers in the individual market for a year, as long as they educate those re-enrolling about the alternatives in the health care law’s insurance marketplaces.
“I completely get how upsetting [losing insurance] could be for many Americans, especially after they heard assurances from me,” Obama said. “We’re going to do everything we can to help Americans who are receiving these cancellation notices.”
“There is no doubt that the way I put that forward unequivocally ended up not being accurate,” Obama added. “My working assumption was that the majority of those folks would find better policies and lower costs or the same costs in the marketplaces.”
Before Obama spoke, a senior White House official said that “insurers can offer customers the option to renew their 2013 plan in 2014 without change, allowing these people to keep their plans.”
According to senior White House officials, the regulatory solution would remove the need for legislative action that is being pushed by both parties on Capitol Hill. One bill, offered by Republican Rep. Fred Upton, would allow those less comprehensive plans to be sold to new customers. The officials said such a plan “would undermine the Affordable Care Act and the marketplaces.” The White House has been skeptical of any legislative solution, which would quickly become a Christmas tree for amendments to undermine the bill.
“I will not accept proposals that are just another brazen attempt to undermine or repeal the law,” Obama said.
I do not see this as much of a solution to the problem, and worry that Obama is simply succumbing to political pressure.
I watched the President live this morning during the Alex Wagner show, which had Howard Dean on as a guest, and Dean could barely contain his frustration. A frustration that I share by the way,.
However I am not at all sure that the President had much of a choice, especially after Bill Clinton pulled the rug out from under him the other day.
By the way, and not to get all Alex Jones here, but I am having a very hard time not thinking that the website roll out was sabotaged from within. There has already been some good reporting on that here, but I think that might just be the tip of the iceberg.
The President also had this to say about the website glitches:
OK. On the website, I was not informed directly that the website would not be working as -- the way it was supposed to. Has I been informed, I wouldn't be going out saying, boy, this is going to be great. You know, I'm accused of a lot of things, but I don't think I'm stupid enough to go around saying, this is going to be like shopping on Amazon or Travelocity, a week before the website opens, if I thought that it wasn't going to work.
So, clearly, we and I did not have enough awareness about the problems in the website. Even a week into it, the thinking was that these were some glitches that would be fixed with patches, as opposed to some broader systemic problems that took much longer to fix and we're still working on them.
Okay, how is THAT possible that nobody told the President of the United States that he was essentially lying to the American people? That really does not seem accidental, and I get the feeling that he was not the only one who had a vested interest in getting this website operating who was kept in the dark.
You can read the transcript of the speech for yourself here.
Gryphen, as soon as I saw the serious malfunctions of the website, I thought the same thing. With the multitude of techs working on it, I'm sure that there were quite a few Repubs in the mix, and the roll-out was so disasterous that sabatoge cannot be ruled out.
ReplyDelete1. He was having problems with Dem. Senators and Representatives who were demanding "something/anything". I think this was a brilliant answer. The onus for cancelled policies is now fully on the insurance companies. "Still cancelled? Gosh, we told them they didn't have to." And the insurers mostly won't reinstate the crap policies, so the basic premise and structure of the ACA remains in place.
ReplyDelete2. Yeah, it's totally possible that he/they didn't understand the depth of the problems OR even what the actual problems were. Those of us who have spent years around computers and computer systems constantly fail to realize just how shallow the knowledge pool is among the general public, including (or maybe especially) our elected representatives.
If the dems stood behind him as they should - instead of giving the GOP talking points which the RW media use every day - the rollout would have been resolved and people would know the GOP and insurance companies were the bad guys. It's amazing it was even passed given the Democrats in congress being so keen to give the GOP the time of day.
Deletemore shuck & jive from mr bojangles
ReplyDeleteMore racism from dickheads.
DeleteWow, congratulations.
DeleteTWO racist references in less than 8 words.
Take a minute, educate yourself. Watch Mr Bojangles, the most famous African American tap dancer out of a multitude of amazing dancers.
Deletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjCFYpWDmfM
So what is your particular talent? I mean apart from the hateful one you've already demonstrated.
Alisa, exactly what I was going to say. Anon @ 12:23pm--Mr. Bojangles, or MR. Bill Robinson to you, was one of the most talented dancers in American history, besides being an elegant, kind human being. NYC essentially shut down to honor him when he passed. Educate yourself.
DeleteRepublicans have obstructed Obama since he was first elected. Red state Governors decline Medicaid expansion (despite the fact that the federal govt picks up 100% of the tab for the first three years - not like that would help them with their budgets, right?) and now, big surprise, the insurance companies add their own type of corporate evil obstruction cancelling policies without telling the policy holders that their crap to begin with. This is one of the key reasons we need the ACA - to reform the health insurance industry. Everyone should just pipe the fuck down. Just give it time, the hoopla will subside, especially as we approach 2016 and they start screaming "Benghazi, Benghazi, Benghazi" at Hillary.
ReplyDeleteAgree!
DeleteSite now working. I just applied. Medicaid here we come - except that I'm in a red state that refused expansion. Fuck you, Mike Pence.
Delete(note: 1) President Obama - you know, the one who "still blames everything on Bush" - has taken personal responsibility for something that is demonstrably the fault of subordinates who let him - and the American people - down. 2) his taking responsibility is not simply typical DC gum-flappin' but has resulted in action to fix the problem. 3) Contrary to what noted health care systems/IT expert John Boner will claim, the problems are all fixable and the glitches will only be remembered in angry tea party gatherings where the die-hards wistfully recall the time "we almost took down the American government")
ReplyDeleteAnd now back to the semi-comedy portion of our show
Say, Gryphen, can you confirm or refudiate the rumor appearing in 125pt type on the Dredge Report that Obama is about to resign and is negotiating a deal to turn the country over to Rafael "TED TALKS" Cruz and The Screechy Wretch(tm) as co-presidents after which he will take his entire BLACK family and those damn BLACK dogs back to the crumbling studio apartment on the 34th floor of the Robert Taylor Cabrini Green public housing project where he lived before stealing the presidency - twice - using Chicago Thug political chicanery and Muslin/Zionest Anti-American jihadi/talmudic terrorists?
I agree with you and I don't think this is accidental. I feel it was sabotaged from within. Like you say, how could no one tell the President that there were malfunctions in the website prior to it rolling out. It just seems so fishy. If there are repub sabotages from within, I sure hope he finds out who they are.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with the possibility of sabotage. The insurance industry or Koch or any number of sources could have paid big dollars to anyone working on the project to cause problems with it.
DeleteIt's a good thing that the ACA covers mental health care. The people who are acting like Stockholm syndrome survivors (at the thought that they won't be able to keep their inadequate, expensive health care plans) will be covered......after a year...oi!
ReplyDeleteOkay, how is THAT possible that nobody told the President of the United States that he was essentially lying to the American people?
ReplyDeleteTo me, lying has two components: saying/writing something that is incorrect and/or misleading, and knowing—or at least suspecting—that this is the case.
Are you saying that if only the first component is present, one is nonetheless "essentially lying"?
Apropos throwing wooden shoes into the gears, when you see where the majority of the workers' political donations went, is it so hard to imagine donations in dollars being accompanied by donations in kind?
Actually, I do think it's a good solution to the plan. It puts the choice in the hands of the consumer. If they want to keep the crappy plan, they can. If they want to shop around, however, they can. There will be no more of the bitching and moaning about "my plan was cancelled," implying they were just SOL, which wasn't true. It takes the focus off these few folks who were had insurance that didn't meet the ACA requirement and puts the focus back on the people who don't have a plan, who are the people who will truly benefit.
ReplyDeleteMY plan (which I have had for over 10 years) WAS NOT CRAPPY and it was cancelled. It was cancelled because Blue Cross wants to make more $ and raise the deductible.
DeleteEverybody is frustrated with the President, eh? Well, I'm just going to say it for him: Fuck. Off. All of the shit he has put up with since he's been in office and everyone knows the game that is being played out against him and yet, people are frustrated. Seriously? Get over yourselves. All he can do is play the game and he's been pretty goddamn good at kicking the rethugs in the balls when it's all said and done. And, this bullshit shall pass as well.
ReplyDeletePrimogen1
1:28 I so agree with you!!! I've never seen so much obstruction in my life and I'm in my 70's!!!
DeletePresident Kennedy had it and so did President Clinton, but nowhere near what President Obama has faced. Racism is a huge part of what is going on w/President Obama which makes me sick to my stomach.
He is doing one hell of a job in spite of the assholes - i.e. McCain, McConnell, Cantor, Boehner and Cruz.
1:59 During his first term, I tried to give people benefit of doubt and accept that they just didn't like his policies but then, you start seeing all of the anger and bile spewed on a constant basis. And, what you've thought all along was actually true: people hate him because of his skin color. I have come to a conclusion that the rethugs, and those that support them financially, and at the ballot want to make sure that a person of color will never run for office again. They want to make him a failure at every turn so in the future, they can bring up his record as evidence that "these folks" don't know how to lead. It can be compared to breaking the color barrier in politics, sports or any other thing that is exclusive to a certain group of people!!! You're not one of us and you don't deserve to be here and we are going to make sure none of your kind will ever make it this far again. Racism never died, it just hid for a little while until we made it okay again for public consumption.
DeletePrimogen 1
You tell em! And I agree. It's like a whole bunch of crows ripping away at him. It's fucking disgusting how little confidence people have in him. He's ALWAYS looking at the long game, the big picture, and so it's easy to attack him in the short game and small picture. The media is vile beyond words what they are doing to facilitate the situation. What he did today was a brilliant move.
DeleteObama Outwits Boehner and Stops His Plot to Kill The ACA Dead In Its Tracks
http://www.politicususa.com/2013/11/14/obama-outwits-boehner-stops-plot-kill-aca-dead-tracks.html
...It is important that the president is fixing this himself. John Boehner’s “fix” is really a backdoor plan to kill the ACA. The president’s pledge not to abandon 40 million people who have a chance to buy health insurance for the first time is huge. Specifically, the president said, “I’m not going to walk away from 40 million people who have the chance to get health insurance for the first time.”
The president isn’t backing down. He isn’t going to cave to pressure from Republicans or nervous Democrats who have an eye on their 2014 reelection campaigns. The president did a great job of admitting his mistakes while at the same time advocating for the ACA.
Republicans thought they had the president on the ropes, but they are wrong. People want access to affordable health care, so Republicans are engaging in a battle that they will never win.
http://www.politicususa.com/2013/11/14/president-obama-offensive-vows-fight-aca-uninsured.html
Right on, right the fuck on.
DeleteI can't figure out why President Clinton came out like he did a day or two ago. He tried instituting health insurance when he was POTUS and failed. President Obama's is 'law'.
ReplyDeleteI can't figure it out. Anyone have a guess?
you really need to guess at this? hint: starts with an h and ends with a y.
DeleteFor the same reason he tried to sabotage his wife's run for the Democratic nomination in 2008 with the same tactic, i.e. saying the wrong thing at precisely the wrong moment. Bill Clinton is a fucking egomaniac. He didn't want Hillary to outshine him and he doesn't want President Obama to outshine him.
DeleteWhen you have Cheney agreeing with what you say - you have nothing of benefit for the people of the US.
DeleteI think he's clearing the field of any debris for Hillary.
DeleteHe might be distancing Hillary from Obamacare in anticipation of 2016 and her having a successful run not bogged down by the problems that are happening.
DeleteJust a thought.
When I saw the mess the computer system was in, the first thing I thought was that it was tripped up by the opposition somehow. I'm sure there is an investigation going on internally.
ReplyDeleteThe past few days have had us witness a sad spectacle.
ReplyDeleteIt’s safe to say that Obamacare’s roll-out hasn’t been as smooth as it should have been. Website problems have been a real hindrance to its more effective implementation, especially in a society wallowing in instant gratification. But, the fact is, that it’s a website, and fixable, and no one has died as a result. The same can’t be said about policies enacted by the previous Administration.
But the outrage ginned up by the mass media over the website problems—an outrage which was losing its motive force as Healthcare.gov performed better by the day—was as nothing compared to the fulminations falling from the lips of well-coiffed “journalists” over President Obama’s “broken promise”. That promise—that if you liked your insurance policy you could keep it—wasn’t broken by him, but by insurance companies which had issued junk policies which did not meet the strictures of the PPACA and were thus cancelling those policies, without informing consumers about options they had on the exchanges. Suddenly the news shows were filled with people apoplectic that their policies had been cancelled—policies, mind you, which could be cancelled at any moment for any reason, say, for instance, if you dared to get sick—and braying that Obama had “broken his promise”.
Today, the President offered an administrative fix, which allowed insurance companies to renew those policies for another year, but also stipulated that those companies had to inform their policy holders of the much better options available under Obamacare. In one move, he defused yet another manufactured scandal.
However, in the lead up to today’s press conference, we were treated to a parade of nervous Democrats, buffeted by the negative coverage, turning against the party’s greatest achievement in social welfare since the birth Medicare. The website’s problems had Democrats opining that the individual mandate should be delayed for a year. And the “broken promise” had Democrats in both the House and Senate rushing to administer a cure which would put the PPACA on life support. We were treated to the image of, once again, President Obama standing alone, and having to fight a hostile press, a rabid GOP, and the usual feckless Democrats.
One thing you can say about Republicans is that they march in lockstep. During the shutdown fiasco, we were treated to breathless reports about “moderate” Republicans who were ready to break with the leadership and stick a knife in the Tea Party’s back. They never materialized; the House GOP caucus would have doomed us to default in the service of party solidarity.
Democrats, obviously, are different. The party is much more diverse, holding within its caucus both Bernie Sanders and Joe Manchin. There are bound to be disagreements.
But in regards to the most signal Democratic achievement of the past 50 years, there should be no light between Congressional Democrats and the White House. There should have been not a single House Democrat going on record as being open to the GOP’s “fix” for the “broken promise”..............
http://theobamadiary.com/2013/11/14/a-few-thoughts-on-democrats/#more-145671
I have to say I've lost Obama on this one. The website is a small issue compared to the 'you can keep your policy if you like it' statement. That was insanely short sighted of him. Here you have a law that rewrites the rules for insurance companies in a big way. Wouldn't you expect them to restructure their policies? And wouldn't that mean changing policies and prices? And wouldn't that mean PEOPLE LOSING THE POLICY THEY CURRENTLY HAVE? Never mind that companies change policies and raise prices all the times.. If your policy changed this particular year, all you will know is that OBAMA LIED TO YOU.
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing my mother's case is probably pretty common. She received a barrage of confusing booklets explaining changes in coverage, non of which applies to her, and all she can think is OBAMA LIED TO ME. If a guy wants his $75 insurance-that-covers-nothing rip off policy, all he knows is OBAMA LIED TO ME. If someone gets a notice saying their deductible went down by five dollars, all they will know is OBAMA LIED TO ME.
Obama screwed up big time. Given the insanely hysterical nature of the right these days, I'm guessing this is the beginning of one ginormous shitstorm.
Oh, and before you all jump down my throat, I voted for Obama, and I was rooting for the ACA. It may be a bad law but it's still an improvement.
I will be buying on the exchange in California. I'm putting it off just like I put off dealing with anything like buying insurance. But I trust that the center will hold on the plan despite the most reprehensible efforts at sabotage from people who refuse to work with President Obama, refuse to work with people who want to move forward with the first major step at insurance reform any administration has ever been able to accomplish. Market-based. Competitive. Something if we ALL pull for can lift a huge burden off the middle class and save huge amounts in health care costs. All principles that Republicans would embrace if it were not a BLACK MAN who is proposing them. POTUS is expected to haul this challenge by himself and he will fucking do it.
DeleteAll I heard was rambling. This man either takes NO advice or is offered BAD advice in many facets of the administration.
ReplyDeleteSigh. Making empty statements is biting him
Oh bite me, you ignorant twat.
DeleteBTW, "This man" is either Obama or President Obama or the President.
It's President Obama to you.
DeleteThe repub s I know are now complaining about this. No matter what the prez does, they are against it.
ReplyDeleteAll I can do (in order to focus on what I CAN do and not waste my energy in useless worry) is to assure myself that if there is anything President Obama can do to make the ACA a success, he is going to do it. And, sabotage aside, the President has access to THE smartest people and he will use them to make sure this program succeeds.
ReplyDeleteWhat’s in a number? That depends on who you ask.
ReplyDeleteIf you’re a Democrat the number 106,815 represents a figure that fell well short of expectations. If you’re a Republican, the number 106,815 represents a calamity that validates your previous talking points regarding a piece of legislation that your party has officially made its Waterloo. If you’re an independent, the number 106,815 represents a discussion point for future bipartisan discussions. However, if you happen to be one of the 106,815 that has been able to purchase health insurance thanks to the Affordable Care Act, then that number means something entire differently to you:
The difference between life and death.
http://www.politicususa.com/2013/11/14/numbers-game-acas-initial-enrollment-means.html
The problem with the ACA is that it has provided a huge windfall for insurance companies by providing new customers to them, which in turn spurs them all to want to make even more money by using the process to their advantage.
ReplyDeleteThe new and better plans they are forced to offer are partially subsidized by the taxpayers; they love this, as they get to charge more and get more customers as well.
What the insurance companies figured out is that by canceling all the old policies, that were often less expensive "catastrophic" policies, they forced their customers onto the new market, for which the companies get far more money for each customer.
The insurance companies are making out both ways on this. It's too bad Mr. Obama did not push for single payer at the outset, which would have eliminated the middle man. Instead, the middle man is making out like a bandit.
One of the major mandates of the ACA is the 80-20% rule. The insurance companies can no longer make huge profits off of premiums. They MUST invest 80% of all premiums directly into health care benefits for the policy holder.
DeleteHow shameful that a President who has nearly killed himself to try to get at least SOME reform injected into a healthcare system that every SANE person agrees was terrible--has been harassed and browbeaten as if he was going to personally profit from the legislation.
ReplyDeleteI cannot help but think back just a few years, to noticing that war profiteers like Cheney and Rumsfeld, feasted upon the naive tit of the American people, and never faced much in the way of criticism, at all.
I don't think the citizens of the U.S. deserve this President's ethical concern for them.