WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama faced desperate calls yesterday from his political allies to swiftly help people whose existing insurance policies are being cancelled because of Obamacare, and to fix the programme’s broken website by the end of the month.
Democrats in the US House of Representatives, seething over the botched startup of Obama’s signature healthcare law, met with administration officials for more than an hour, angry that the botched rollout could become a major political liability for the party during the 2014 mid-term elections. Obama had repeatedly promised that Americans who liked their health insurance could keep it when the law took effect on October 1, but several million people have received cancellation notices because their plans do not comply with new requirements, such as coverage for mental health treatment and maternity care.
“It got heated,” said Representative Jose Serrano of New York, describing the conversation between his fellow Democrats and administration officials.
“Don’t come here telling us it would be fixed by November 30 because the whole world believes it won’t be fixed,” Serrano told reporters.
Lawmakers also pressed for a quick administrative fix for those Americans facing cancelled policies.
The 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, aims to provide health benefits to millions of uninsured Americans.
It mandates that most Americans be enrolled for health coverage by March 31 or pay a fine.
REUTERS
