WASHINGTON — President Obama caved to mounting political pressure — including a rebellion among angry fellow Democrats — and announced Thursday that he would let people keep insurance policies previously outlawed by ObamaCare.
“We fumbled the rollout on this health-care law,” the president admitted in a rambling White House press conference.
Uncharacteristically contrite, Obama decreed that insurance companies could continue offering plans deemed “sub-standard” under ObamaCare for an extra year.
The administration left it up to state insurance commissioners to decide which plans “can and can’t be sold in their states,” he said.
But it was unclear how many of the millions losing their policies would be able to extend them or get them back — or even if insurers would be offering them the chance.
The industry reacted with fury to the announcement, warning that the last-minute shift could “destabilize the market” and increase premiums across-the-board.
One insurance official openly questioned if Obama’s plan was even possible.
The president said he would make the change to ObamaCare through administrative action, which would avoid a legislative remedy that would have given Republicans a chance to pick apart the law.
Obama offered empathy and reassurances to those caught unexpectedly in the ObamaCare follies.
“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 that they liked, they could keep it,” Obama said.
“To those Americans, I hear you loud and clear,” he continued. “I said that I would do everything we can to fix this problem. And today I’m offering an idea that will help do it.”
The backlash over dropped health plans has only compounded the president’s ObamaCare headache, as the federal Web site continues to malfunction, drawing disappointingly low enrollment numbers — just 100,000 sign-ups — since the Oct. 1 launch.
By tackling the uproar over policy cancellations, Obama moved to stem at least some of the political damage to Democrats who wholeheartedly backed the new health-care law.
The insurance industry immediately balked.
“Changing the rules after health plans have already met the requirements of the law could destabilize the market and result in higher premiums for consumers,” said Karen Ignagni, president of America’s Health Insurance Plans, the industry’s trade association.
“Premiums have already been set for next year based on an assumption of when consumers will be transitioning to the new marketplace. If now fewer younger and healthier people choose to purchase coverage in the exchange, premiums will increase and there will be fewer choices for consumers,” she warned.
Jim Donelon, president of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, raised doubts about whether the changes Obama proposed were even possible.
“It is unclear how, as a practical matter, the changes proposed today by the president can be put into effect,” he said.
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius raised the same concerns when Republicans pushed for legislation to let people keep their plans.
Only last week, she told a Senate panel she doubted that retroactively permitting insurers to sell canceled policies “can work very well since companies are now in the market with an array of new plans.”
Obama announced the revised policy a day before the House was scheduled to vote on a GOP bill that would have allowed Americans to keep their current insurance plans through 2014.
House Democrats, facing tough elections next year because of dismay over ObamaCare’s numerous problems, had threatened to back the GOP bill if Obama didn’t come up with his own fix.
It remained unclear whether House Republicans would proceed with the bill, titled the “Keep Your Health Plan Act,” following Obama’s preemptive action.
Even some Democrats said they were skeptical Obama’s plan would work.
“We have legitimate concerns,” said Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who co-sponsored a bill that would allow Americans to indefinitely keep their current policies.
“They should let you keep [your plan]. We all agree on that,” he said. “The president acknowledged that to a certain extent, but his is time specific. Ours had an unlimited time.”
Rep. Juan Vargas (D-Calif.) suggested a “belts and suspenders” legislation might be needed to support Obama’s administrative fix.
Republicans seized on Obama’s admission that the health law needed the overhaul.
“Americans are becoming increasingly aware of the fact ObamaCare is broken beyond repair,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
“The only ‘fix’ is full repeal followed by step-by-step, patient-centered reforms that drive down costs and that Americans actually want.”
By granting a reprieve to Americans outraged at losing their health plans, Obama surrendered — at least temporarily — a core tenet of his signature law: the guarantee that health insurance plans meet a minimum standard of coverage.
He stressed that his temporary retreat to let people keep their current policies wouldn’t become an opening for Republicans seeking to dismantle the entire law.
“We’re going to do everything we can to help the Americans who have received these cancellation notices,” Obama said. “But I also want everybody to remember there are still 40 million Americans who don’t have health insurance at all.
“I’m not going to walk away from 40 million people who have the chance to get health insurance for the first time.”.
Obama owned up to having assured Americans that if they liked their health plans, they could keep their health plans.
“There is no doubt that the way I put that forward unequivocally ended up not being accurate,” he said. “That’s on me. And that’s why I’m trying to fix it.”