WASHINGTON — President Obama is apologizing that some Americans are losing their insurance — and referenced assurances that he gave the American people during his reelection campaign that they could keep their health plans.
“I am sorry that they are finding themselves in this situation based on assurances they got from me,” Obama said.
“We’ve got to work hard to make sure that they know we hear them and we are going to do everything we can to deal with folks who find themselves in a tough position as a consequence of this,” Obama told NBC News at the White House on Thursday.
It’s the most personal expression of regret yet from the administration, which for weeks has been acknowledging the failures of the botched Obamacare web site that was created so that Americans can buy insurance.
On Tuesday, White House press secretary Jay Carney apologized that the web site wasn’t providing needed information to people getting notices that they were losing private insurance. “That’s on us and I accept that,” Carney said Tuesday.
The administration has been battered by press reports pointing out that millions of Americans have been getting notices from their insurance carriers stating that because of Obamacare, their plans weren’t being offered and they must select a new one.
Some of the new plans are more expensive, and some carriers didn’t mention the new health exchanges – which are extremely difficult to access right now anyway.
During the 2012 campaign, Obama said: “If you like your health plan, you will be able to keep your health plan” under Obamacare.
Obama walked back his statement somewhat this week when he said: “If you had one of these plans before the Affordable Care Act came into law and you really liked that plan, what we said was you can keep it if it hasn’t changed since the law passed.”
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R-N.J.) accused Obama of sounding like a lawyer with that statement.
The law set up numerous restrictions on what kinds of plans could and couldn’t be offered, requiring certain services be covered free of charge, and prohibiting bans on preexisting medical conditions – which has raised the costs of some coverage, particularly for bare bones plans and to people buying insurance on the individual market.
House Republicans scheduled a vote for next week on the Keep Your Health Plan Act – in a move intended to embarrass Obama for his statement. Sen. Mary Landrieu, a Louisiana Democrat who is up for reelection, has her own bill to let people keep their old health plans.
A group of Democrats who are up for reelection met with Obama in the White House on Wednesday to discuss the botched rollout of Obamacare, but Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) said there wasn’t consideration being given to delaying of the new law’s mandate that people buy insurance.
The administration has said repeatedly that the number of Americans enrolled in Obamacare will be “low” when it finally releases figures next week. The volatile issue is looking to be a big part of the 2014 elections, and some GOP operatives say it’s what kept the Virginia governor’s race close, though Democrats nevertheless scored a win.