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.
Obama's the best I don't care what anyone says...
The bottom line is, the healthcare companies will find a way around any & all laws Congress & President Obama makes that even TRY to help people get decent healthcare. Their bottom line is MONEY - and they could CARE LESS, when they're making it, whether you live or die. --– The same is true of the pharmaceutical companies. If they could kill you & make money off it-–they will.
Health insurance premium was $350/mo with $3,000 deductible for my family. We had all kind/needed coverage including dental and vision. As we are too old to think about having babies, our policy didn't have maternity coverage and hence the Insurance company has cancelled the policy. We checked in Obamacare website and shockingly the Gold plan offered is around $860/mo with no dental coverage plus $12,700 out of pocket deductible. Platinum plan is $1,200/mo plus $12,700 deductible with no dental. The lowest Bronze plan is $540/mo plus $12,700 out of pocket deductible with no dental.
Obamacare is a big scam to make rich (Insurance company shareholders) richer and middle-class to vanish soon.
I somehow knew there would be some blame cast in his speech. "They didn't tell me...", etc. I cannot remember ever hearing Obama say something when he wasn't casting blame for something somewhere. Ridiculous! Especially given how much blame could be cast at him for so many things. Like this mess called ObamaMare.
Since when does our government tell the media what to censor?
I don't get people that are surprised that Insurance companies operate to make money. Of course they do. They're a business. If you had a family business you would be trying to make money too. And if it grew and had employees outside your family you would still be trying to make as much money as possible. Business are created to make money. And people work for those businesses so that they can make money. It's how we live. I don't understand people who seem to think that businesses should operate as charitable organizations. Really? Can't you take care of yourself? If not, then please don't have children that you expect society to have to pay for.
Media's dependency on advertising skews them to the right. Who protects us, the actual humans that live here?
It is a dangerous precedent to allow corporations to make us buy their product. They already make laws that we have to use their product. And they plant judges to get the laws they want. And they corrupted our elections. It's a problem.
It is good in that it smoked out all of the lousy policies out there. But that's just the tip of the iceberg on this crap of a system they call health care.
The privatize profits socialize losses people had their chance. Throw them out.
Why do they think its bad for them to skew the risk pool (dump all of the sick people on the government and keep the healthy people), but its not ok for them? GET F'ing REAL! Then they fuss and crab about how poorly the government is doing. I don't hear a lot of medicare folks complaining about their health care. I see private industries trying to shove inferior products on them. Then complaining about it. Open your eyes folks.
ANYONE who believe what Obama said awhile ago is GULLIBLE. 29 times he said "if you like your insurance and your doctor, you can keep it." Obama is a LIAR
People, this changes nothing other than delaying the cancled poicies until next year. Do you understand Why???? He was getting pressure from his own DEM party because they are concerened about Next November. This has nothing to do with fixing the ACA LAW and every thing to do with saving DEMs Senate majority. They could care less about how this law affects middle class and all americans alike. I'm just an american citizen who belongs to no party. Just want someone with good values and honesty. We Do NOT HAVE THAT IN THIS CURRENT ADMINASTRATION. People PLEASE OPEN YOUR EYES AND THINK ABOUT IT.
If, somehow, this ACA survives the immediate hurdles, and through some evolution and tweaking of the pitfalls becomes not only viable, but most of what Obama envisioned, his legacy will stand out as one of the major achievements of any president. At this point it's a mighty big "if", but if this does come to fruition, it's not a matter of who will play Obama in the movie, it will be how many movies will be produced. His recent bandaid does not bode well, though. He should have gotten the insurance companies to offer identical policies with waivers on ACA constraints to those affected for perpetuity, and if these policies screwed the holders, so be it. Let the market deal with these people.
So, basically what I am hearing is that insurance companies CAN reinstate the cancelled policies, but there is no requirement that they do so, hence there is no guarantee that this "fix" is even viable. Further, even IF the cancelled policies are reinstated, all he is doing is kicking the can down the road for another year, so that all of these policies will again get cancelled, but that will happen AFTER the 2014 elections. How convenient...
@jschmidt – Obama has destroyed the best healthcare system in the world
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First, 38th in the world and the MOST EXPENSIVE does not qualify as BEST. Second, Obama has not destroyed anything.
What we have is broken for-profit system that needed fixing. The free market approach (insurance pools for those uninsured and those with pre-existing conditions) were supposed to lower costs while allowing these companies to eat up Medicare funding.. i.e. Privatization of Govt Insurance.. (a conservative plan). ACA is FAR from perfect, but burning your house down because the garage door opener doesn't work is disingenuous at best.. Perhaps the GOP should work WITH the Dem's to fix the parts that we are seeing the unintended consequences of...
Nice sales pitch. I ain't buying. Next?
I really dont understand why so many people have developed so much hatred for this president...All he is trying to do is give the American people better health care. Understand that the is NO project or reform of this magnitude that will be rolled out without its setbacks. Give the health reform (Obamacare) a chance to work and work together to fix what ever issues may arise.
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.
IFF, ...if and ONLY IF the insurers agree to permit these plans, ... but why would they, if the new plans make more money, why would insurance companies create a two tiered system, rather than tell Obama, ...no thanks, you wrote the law, and we complied, NO Do OVERS! Then what?
I thought the Republicans were evil for suggesting a year delay? I'm thinking they are making some sense now.
To all of the people celebrating the fact that all of the "crappy" policies are being forced out by the government, did you ever stop to think that not everyone needs or wants top of the line coverage, nor do they want to pay for it? Some people, especially the younger healthier, only want coverage that covers major medical, and would rather gamble with a higher deductible and less coverage for minor issue (doctor's visits, etc.). What right does the government have to tell them they cannot have that option? If the government can dictate this to us, then next they will decide that they can dictate that smoking is illegal, drinking is illegal, 32 ounce soft drinks are illegal, and french fries are illegal, BUT marijuana is legal (go figure). Then, they will decide that they can spy on all of our electronic communications (oh wait, they're already doing THAT). How about if the government gets its nose out of our healthcare, and focuses on things that should be more in its domain, like fixing the dammed economy, and fixing all the messed up relationships with our allies???
Wow! now I can keep my policy for a whole year... what about after that? Sorry, I don't have an extra $500+++ per month to spend on this with out giving up food, or housing (maybe my family could go live in a tent). This is the craziest 1984 style stuff that I can imagine. Both my kids have health problems so we've always paid the price for health insurance but now what do we do Mr. President?!
Why are Republicans against healthcare for all Americans ? Before President Obama became President the main topic of conversation was sky rocketing premiums. Everyone was complaining. Now the problem is being fixed and Republicans want to obstruct and delay the implementation of affordable healthcare for everyone. What happened in the Virginia election will happen in 2014 to the rest of the tea party across the country.
@ The REAL Truth...: Despite your use of incorrect statistics, just exactly HOW has Obama made our healthcare system better and more affordable? Other than him saying so, the facts support just the opposite–more people LOSING health insurance, and their new Obamacare insurance is much more expensive, and not necessarily better coverage. Stop drinking the Kool-Aid long enough to discern fact from fiction.
So, apparently Obama can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants, no matter what the Congressional law says? Don't dictators do that?
Still, Obama will just do what Obama does until he is challenged in court, which no one has the cojones to do.
What I REALLY want to know is why Obama is allowing these "rotten apple insurance" companies to continue their supposed "substandard" and "garbage" policies.
The OTHER thing I'd really like to know is if this is all the greedy insurance companies fault for cancelling these "substandard" and "garbage" policies, then why is it REQUIRED that Obama ALLOW them to reinstate them?
BTW, anybody that's been paying attention knows there's simply no way these "inferior" policies can be "re-instated", especially before 1/1/2014. This is simply another desperation patch being put on a fundamentally unworkable program because the public is getting its first glimpse of what Obamacare is really all about, and they are NOT liking it!
There will be more and more of these patches each and every time the public finds out the next horrible thing about Obamacare, and every patch is simply going to make the whole thing more and more unworkable, until eventually the whole thing comes crashing down like a house of cards.
Really, the only real solution is to repeal Obamacare and start over with REAL health care reform, not some socialist redistribution scheme disguised as health care reform.