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| Obama: ‘The debate over repealing this law is over. The Affordable Care Act is here to stay’ | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| President Obama said Tuesday the fact that more than 7.1 million Americans had signed up for health insurance over the past six months showed “the Affordable Care Act is here to stay.” | |
| “The bottom line is this: the share of Americans with insurance is up, and the growth in the cost of insurance is down,” he said, standing in the Rose Garden with Vice President Biden. “There’s no good reason to go back.” | |
| The White House’s announcement Tuesday marks a sharp turnaround for a federal campaign to sell the nation on new health insurance from disastrous beginnings six months ago. | |
| The 7.1 million tally is based on the number of people who enrolled for coverage through the new federal insurance marketplace operating in three dozen states by the deadline of midnight on Monday, plus the enrollments from 14 state-run marketplaces as of March 30. | |
| Taken together, the enrollment reflects a late rush of consumers seeking coverage as the March 31 deadline approached. They lifted the enrollment beyond the level that federal officials have believed likely in recent months. | Taken together, the enrollment reflects a late rush of consumers seeking coverage as the March 31 deadline approached. They lifted the enrollment beyond the level that federal officials have believed likely in recent months. |
| Recounting the tales of three Americans who have been helped by the law—including a woman who was diagnosed with cancer after getting covered under the law — Obama said that was the point of the law,”Making sure that all of us, and all our fellow citizens can count on the security of health care when we get sick.” | |
| He also said congressional Democrats should be proud of having helped enact the law, even as they come under attack this year. | |
| “We could not have done it without them, and they should be proud of what they’ve done,” he said, warning that Republicans could pay a price for their opposition. “In the end, history is not kind to those who would deny Americans their basic economic security… That’s what the Affordable Care Act represents.” | |
| Obama cautioned that there were still problems in the nation’s health care system. | |
| “This doesn’t mean all the problems with health care have been solved,” he said. “But the debate over repealing this law is over.” | |
| White House Press Secretary Jay Carney that high enrollment was due, in part, to the intensive public campaign by the Obama administration and its allies to persuade the public to sign up. But, Carney added, “most of all it’s the fact that the American people, despite the negative advertising, despite the obstacles we put in their way with the crummy rollout, made it clear that they wanted this product.” | |
| Congressional budget analysts had long forecast that 7 million people would get coverage this year through new federal and state insurance marketplaces created by the 2010 health-care law during a sign-up period from Oct. 1 to March 31. And the Obama administration embraced that estimate. | Congressional budget analysts had long forecast that 7 million people would get coverage this year through new federal and state insurance marketplaces created by the 2010 health-care law during a sign-up period from Oct. 1 to March 31. And the Obama administration embraced that estimate. |
| But the budget analysts’ forecast was downgraded to 6 million in February, taking into account massive computer problems during much of the fall with HealthCare.gov, the online federal marketplace, that frustrated many consumers who tried to shop for and buy health plans. | But the budget analysts’ forecast was downgraded to 6 million in February, taking into account massive computer problems during much of the fall with HealthCare.gov, the online federal marketplace, that frustrated many consumers who tried to shop for and buy health plans. |
| “We all know about the early setbacks with the rollout of Obamacare, but here it is today,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said at the start of his weekly briefing with reporters. “People are hungry for the benefits of this law.” | “We all know about the early setbacks with the rollout of Obamacare, but here it is today,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said at the start of his weekly briefing with reporters. “People are hungry for the benefits of this law.” |
| Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was decidedly less upbeat about the new Obamacare enrollment numbers. | Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was decidedly less upbeat about the new Obamacare enrollment numbers. |
| “We don’t know of course, exactly what they have signed up for, we don’t know how many have paid. What we do know is that all across the country our constituents are having an unpleasant interaction with Obamacare,” McConnell said in a statement. “Whether they can sign up for a policy or not, they are discovering, of course, higher premiums, a higher deductible. Many of them are losing their jobs and so it is really a catastrophe for the country both for the healthcare providers and the consumers.” | “We don’t know of course, exactly what they have signed up for, we don’t know how many have paid. What we do know is that all across the country our constituents are having an unpleasant interaction with Obamacare,” McConnell said in a statement. “Whether they can sign up for a policy or not, they are discovering, of course, higher premiums, a higher deductible. Many of them are losing their jobs and so it is really a catastrophe for the country both for the healthcare providers and the consumers.” |
| The unexpectedly large number of enrollees, rushed out hours after the close of the six-month enrollment window for coverage in 2014, means that the marketplaces proved more popular in their final days than anyone expected. | The unexpectedly large number of enrollees, rushed out hours after the close of the six-month enrollment window for coverage in 2014, means that the marketplaces proved more popular in their final days than anyone expected. |
| The extent of the new insurance’s popularity carries significant political implications for a law that has been a source of deep partisan division ever since it was enacted four years ago. The Obama administration and other Democrats have predicted that the American public would be attracted to health plans — and the law that created them — once they actually were given an opportunity to gain the insurance. Republicans have predicted that the law is fatally flawed and would be spurned. | The extent of the new insurance’s popularity carries significant political implications for a law that has been a source of deep partisan division ever since it was enacted four years ago. The Obama administration and other Democrats have predicted that the American public would be attracted to health plans — and the law that created them — once they actually were given an opportunity to gain the insurance. Republicans have predicted that the law is fatally flawed and would be spurned. |
| Wesley Lowery contributed to this story. | Wesley Lowery contributed to this story. |
| Related stories: | Related stories: |
| Have you used the new exchanges? Share your story here | Have you used the new exchanges? Share your story here |
| Understanding the Affordable Care Act | Understanding the Affordable Care Act |
| Your Obamacare questions, answered | Your Obamacare questions, answered |
| Everything you need to know about the health-care law’s problems | Everything you need to know about the health-care law’s problems |