President Barack Obama today said insurers will be able to continue health insurance coverage next year for current policy holders that otherwise would be canceled under the new Affordable Care Act.
The change marks a significant policy retreat by the president, one that he hopes will diminish an intensifying protest over his incorrect promise that Americans will be able to keep their insurance plans under the new law.
“That’s on me. That’s why I’m trying to fix it,” Obama said during a press conference at the White House.
Obama’s announcement came on the eve of a Congressional vote on a Republican bill to change the law, which was gaining traction among Democrats after the administration’s release Wednesday of low enrollment figures for the first month of the federal government’s online insurance marketplace.
House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) questioned whether Obama’s fix would be legal or effective, and he said his caucus would move forward with Friday’s vote.
“I am highly skeptical that they can do this administratively,” Boehner said, calling for the entire health law to be scrapped. “There is no way to fix this.”
