First on CNN: Obama to push fix for insurance cancellations
[Breaking news update 11:55 a.m. ET]
Sources close to the insurance industry tell CNN's Gloria Borger that it looks like insurance companies will cooperate with President Barack Obama's proposed solution to the problem of health care plan cancellations due to Obamacare.
[Original story posted 11:03 a.m. ET]
(CNN) – President Barack Obama will lay out an administrative solution to address the problem of people getting cancellation notices from their health insurance providers due to the Affordable Care Act, a senior Democratic source familiar with the plan tells CNN's Chief Congressional Correspondent Dana Bash.
Obama will deliver remarks at 11:35 a.m. ET in the White House Press Briefing Room, the White House announced Thursday morning.
The plan will in part call for insurance policies to be renewed for one year for those who already have insurance policies in the individual market, the source said.
If an insurance company does renew a substandard plan, it would be required to do two things. First, it would have to notify the policy holder of alternative coverage options. Second, the company would have to disclose all of the benefits a policy holder will lose if she keeps an existing substandard plan.
The source noted the President may disclose additional details.
White House says Obamacare site improving, enrollment off sharply
In addition, the source said the President would allow state insurance commissioners to decide on their own to not permit this renewal.
It's worth noting, however, that there are some states - including Virginia, Kentucky and Idaho - that require all plans in their state to comply with Affordable Care Act standards.
White House officials get earful from Democrats on Obamacare
Even though the President is about to announce the fix, House Democrats are planning to unveil their own legislative proposal that will be offered as an alternative during a procedural vote on the House GOP bill tomorrow, according to two senior House Democratic aides.
“It's back up,” one of these aides told CNN. “We want to have suspenders and a belt.”
This will allow members of Congress to be on the record voting for a solution.
Poll: Obama approval ratings drop, Americans say he's not trustworthy
When selling Obamacare, the President repeatedly assured Americans they would be able to keep their plans if they liked them. However, many Americans have been getting dropped from their providers because their existing policies don't work with the new regulations.
Obama has since apologized for people losing their coverage and pledged to find a solution.
Many in Congress avoiding health care exchanges
– CNN’s Deirdre Walsh and Mark Preston contributed to this report.
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From what I've read you can't avoid the website through the phone or paper application, your information still goes through the website (just at their end).
Major complaints against Obamacare are primarily from Obama's supporters who lost personal insurance coverage and suffered sticker-shock. Bill Clinton chipped in his own critique of Obama's dishonesty. Now that Obamacare has tanked along with the president's ratings, even democrats in fear of the 2014 elections are in no mood for a revised laundry list of promises from a lame duck president.
How does this fix the problem? The "problem" is Obama said everyone could keep their health plans but that turned out to be untrue. I would expect any "fix" to allow them to keep their old plans. All he is doing is POSSIBLY delaying the termination date of people's old policies by one year,....then they lose their coverage. That can't be said to be something that allows them to keep their plans. Further, if someone doesn't currently have an individual policy, then they are prevented from buying the types of policies that are being terminated.
Why does Obama and Congress have such a hard time understanding that some people do not want to purchase full health coverage? I only want a high deductible plan,....one that just covers costs associated with emergency care, hospitalizations and all associated costs, expensive therapies/treatments, and drugs. I have four doctors and a nurse in my immediate family, and therefore have pretty much zero need for basic health coverage for things like routine patient visits, etc. I realize not everyone else has access to free doctors, but every person's situation is unique so I'm sure many other people don't have a need for the types of policies offered through the Obamacare insurance exchanges for reason or another. Why should we be forced to buy a policy we don't need or want?
It didn't just work poorly when you get sick, we lost our jobs too (the financial ruin they won't say outloud).
HC cost have been rising fast over the last 12 years. In addition, we dish out grants to hospitals and sc-am reli-gious run organizations. And we pay for those who visit emergency rooms and skip out on the bill.
Obama needs to raise the penalty for those who don't comply.
I'M sick and tired of paying for free-loa-ders and religious sc-am artists.
How exactly does this fix the problem? As is the usual....it just pushes the problem (and the lie) down the road
It shouldn't be a forced plan in the first place.
He did an Xbox One move there.
That is a fix? Still doesnt help that he lied all these years to the American People.
Just wait till the employer mandate kicks in and millions more lose their insurance.
The only way to find out how much it is going to cost you is to enter all of your personal information into the website. Only then will they show you the options. Hmm, why can't I just see the plans, review my options, and then enroll? Enrolling first then getting the options is like buying a car and then test driving it.
A one year extension? Please look at the current White House web page on the Affordable Care Act. IT STILL STATES "IF YOU LIKE YOUR PLAN< YOU CAN KEEP IT." Liar liar pants on fire. What happens after a one year extension? Goodbye to the plan the Liar said you can keep!
@KimH – Does nothing for our small business. Our 9/1 renewal resulted in a cancellation because of ACA. The plan was virtually ACA Gold Standard.
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You do know that companies with less than 50 employees are not part of ACA? You are NOT required to provide "standard" plans. If your small business plan was cancelled, it was because your insurance company decided to REAM your company still further using ACA as the excuse to do so. And u bought it... You need to take legal action against these insurance companies.
All of the emphasis is on how much it cost and nothing on the policy. These folks try to get out of paying everything.
They passed this in 2011, and have been delaying it ever since to keep its implementation from negatively affecting elections. Surely at some point we need to see what this law actually does while the people responsible for it are still accountable.
health said; "
I keep hearing about all these young people saying they don't "need" insurance.
QUIT BEING DEADBEATS. Eventually you WILL need insurance. Think of it like retirement. You are putting in the pool now when you're healthy so when you need it, it'll be there"
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Well Dude, Health Insurance from the Gov't Exchanges is not a Retirement Plan. You don't get that money you pay on Premiums back. Obama, Reid and Pelosi knew this, they need 35 Million healthy young people who don't need Health Insurance to cover folks with pre-existing conditions, the sick, the welfare voters and the Illegals. But if you think the way out of this mess for Democrats is to attack young healthy Americans and try to brow-beat them into purchasing Health Insurance THEY DO NOT NEED then by all means proceed.
Can someone please let Obama know that the insurance premiums and out-of pocket deductible offered in Obamacare marketplace is way high than what the current policy holders have.
The cancelled policy has coverage that are substandard is a lame excuse to force everyone to Obamacare where most of the coverages offered could never be used by the customer, like maternity for male customers. Don't force diabetic patient to eat lots of sugary candy.
They use our money against us. Its a problem.
His next response is "All the insurance companies are republicans, just out to get me"...
I thought you all like Obama. What happened now?
Putting cancellation off for a year is not good enough. If you are trying to get people off of sub-standard plans, then sure, let them have another year, but then provide a guarantee that they will be offered an equivalent or better ACA-approved plan at the same or less cost. That is the only way to keep the spirit of the promise, while completing the transition to ACA
Obamacare should be delayed one year by law for everyone to be fair and constitutional.
Apparently the President meant, "You can keep you health plan [for a one year] period". See folks, he's gonna give you a year to be educated on how bad your health plan is so that when you have to switch you won't mind that he lied, or that you can't afford it. By the way, what happens to discretionary consumer spending when people have to pay more each month for health insurance? Shovel ready jobs for everyone....meaning that we need the shovels to bury the jobs (and economic growth) killed by the ACA.
So NOW he's telling the truth?
What a complete and total train wreck. Since when can laws be rewritten from a podium at the White House? My trust in the government is completely gone. If this were the private sector, there would be penalties, jail time, etc. Fraud is fraud and this entire administration needs to be called out for their incompetence.
It doesn't matter if you get it back for a year! Obamacare has made it impossible for people to afford insurance. If they lose their current pla and get it back it will e at an outrageous premium. What is wrong with politicians and them not listening to what the american people are saying in clear ENGLISH! Listen to us...what if we all decided to stop filing tax returns and paying those "we still owe" amounts. Will you listen then??? Or just put all the people in jail? Enough is enough. Big business, like insurance companuies, only care about making a profit to pay CEOs millions of dollars that they don't actually earn. The only way to make those millions it to get the government to agree to some ludicrous idea that only hurts and costs the american grunt workers money!