Democrats Downplay Lawmaker Defections over Affordable Care Act
Democratic lawmakers downplayed support some members gave to a GOP bill that would let insurers sell certain health policies for another year.
(Bloomberg) -- Democratic lawmakers downplayed the support some members of their party gave to a Republican bill that would let insurers sell for another year health policies that don’t meet the requirements of the Affordable Care Act.
House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California, speaking Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” said the 39 House Democrats who supported the Nov. 15 measure were basically those who had already opposed an insurance mandate for individuals and businesses.
“Democrats stand tall in support of the Affordable Care Act,” Pelosi said. “The rollout of the website, that’s terrible. But the fact is that will be fixed.”
Almost a fifth of House Democrats joined Republicans last week to pass legislation revising the health-care law. The legislation puts pressure on the Senate to advance proposals to fix technical problems with its insurance exchange and cancellation notices sent to hundreds of thousands of policyholders.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat, said the Democrats who voted for the Republican bill were “just responding to the worries of their constituents.” Speaking on ABC’s “This Week,” Gillibrand said President Barack Obama should have been “more specific” about the impact of the law on existing insurance policies. “This is a fixable problem,” she said.
Jay Carney, Obama’s press secretary, said Nov. 15 that Obama would veto the Republican measure if it reaches his desk, maintaining it would permit insurers to “sell substandard policies to new customers.”
Fifteen insurance industry representatives -- including from Aetna Corp. and Blue Cross Blue Shield -- met on Nov. 15 with the President at the White House, where they expressed concern that a one-year reprieve he gave to people whose policies were canceled because of the law would make it harder to draw healthy enrollees, according to a person familiar with the meeting.
Senator John Barrasso, a Wyoming Republican, said Obama’s proposal was “a false fix” that won’t address policy cancellations that have plagued the law’s rollout. “The president may call these junk policies or substandard policies, but they’re policies that work for those people,” Barrasso said on CNN’s “State of the Union” program. He cited the case of a Wyoming woman whose health insurance was canceled because it didn’t include pregnancy coverage required by the health-care law, even though the woman had had a hysterectomy.
Taking Responsibility
Since opening Oct. 1, the federal online marketplace serving 36 states has been plagued by delays, error messages and hang-ups that have prevented customers from completing applications. Obama’s acceptance of responsibility for the law’s troubled rollout and his efforts to defuse the furor over policy cancellations by allowing states to reinstate canceled plans for one year have fallen short of quelling criticism.
The Obama administration would consider the new market for health insurance a success if 80 percent of users can purchase plans online, the Washington Post reported, citing unidentified government and industry officials. Marilyn Tavennar, head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, has said that the experience on the website “will be smooth for the vast majority of users” by the end of November. The agency also says the website should be faster, with fewer error messages and time-outs.
Obama, in his news conference on Nov. 14 made clear that the website wouldn’t be fully operational by the November 30 deadline, only that it would work for a “majority” of users. “We’re going to have to continue to improve it even after November 30th, December 1st,” he said. “But the majority of people who use it will be able to see it operate the way it was supposed to.”
Senator Kelly Ayotte, a New Hampshire Republican, said the rollout of the health-care law “is a mess.” Ayotte, speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” said “the president said he fumbled the rollout, now it’s time for a timeout.”
Representative Jim Clyburn, a South Carolina Democrat, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that only about nine of the Democrats who voted for the Republican bill had “real serious concerns” about the law. “The fact of the matter is this is a rollout problem,” Clyburn said. “This is not a values problem.”
House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California, speaking Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” said the 39 House Democrats who supported the Nov. 15 measure were basically those who had already opposed an insurance mandate for individuals and businesses.
“Democrats stand tall in support of the Affordable Care Act,” Pelosi said. “The rollout of the website, that’s terrible. But the fact is that will be fixed.”
Almost a fifth of House Democrats joined Republicans last week to pass legislation revising the health-care law. The legislation puts pressure on the Senate to advance proposals to fix technical problems with its insurance exchange and cancellation notices sent to hundreds of thousands of policyholders.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat, said the Democrats who voted for the Republican bill were “just responding to the worries of their constituents.” Speaking on ABC’s “This Week,” Gillibrand said President Barack Obama should have been “more specific” about the impact of the law on existing insurance policies. “This is a fixable problem,” she said.
Jay Carney, Obama’s press secretary, said Nov. 15 that Obama would veto the Republican measure if it reaches his desk, maintaining it would permit insurers to “sell substandard policies to new customers.”
Fifteen insurance industry representatives -- including from Aetna Corp. and Blue Cross Blue Shield -- met on Nov. 15 with the President at the White House, where they expressed concern that a one-year reprieve he gave to people whose policies were canceled because of the law would make it harder to draw healthy enrollees, according to a person familiar with the meeting.
Senator John Barrasso, a Wyoming Republican, said Obama’s proposal was “a false fix” that won’t address policy cancellations that have plagued the law’s rollout. “The president may call these junk policies or substandard policies, but they’re policies that work for those people,” Barrasso said on CNN’s “State of the Union” program. He cited the case of a Wyoming woman whose health insurance was canceled because it didn’t include pregnancy coverage required by the health-care law, even though the woman had had a hysterectomy.
Taking Responsibility
Since opening Oct. 1, the federal online marketplace serving 36 states has been plagued by delays, error messages and hang-ups that have prevented customers from completing applications. Obama’s acceptance of responsibility for the law’s troubled rollout and his efforts to defuse the furor over policy cancellations by allowing states to reinstate canceled plans for one year have fallen short of quelling criticism.
The Obama administration would consider the new market for health insurance a success if 80 percent of users can purchase plans online, the Washington Post reported, citing unidentified government and industry officials. Marilyn Tavennar, head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, has said that the experience on the website “will be smooth for the vast majority of users” by the end of November. The agency also says the website should be faster, with fewer error messages and time-outs.
Obama, in his news conference on Nov. 14 made clear that the website wouldn’t be fully operational by the November 30 deadline, only that it would work for a “majority” of users. “We’re going to have to continue to improve it even after November 30th, December 1st,” he said. “But the majority of people who use it will be able to see it operate the way it was supposed to.”
Senator Kelly Ayotte, a New Hampshire Republican, said the rollout of the health-care law “is a mess.” Ayotte, speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” said “the president said he fumbled the rollout, now it’s time for a timeout.”
Representative Jim Clyburn, a South Carolina Democrat, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that only about nine of the Democrats who voted for the Republican bill had “real serious concerns” about the law. “The fact of the matter is this is a rollout problem,” Clyburn said. “This is not a values problem.”