In response to a bumpy rollout of Obamacare, President Obama announced today that he would allow insurers to extend policies that have been canceled for one year even if they do not comply with the law.
Originally, in presenting the Affordable Care Act, the president promised Americans that “if you like your current policy, you can keep it.”
But a problem with that approach became apparent when insurers were required to cover about ten or so specific items in every healthcare policy. This was done to make comparing policies easier for consumers, and to make health insurance better across the board by including some preventative measures, etc.
Some policies currently in use by consumers did not include these provisions. And by not being ACA compliant, those policies were being cancelled and replaced with updated versions. Thus – the surprise for some consumers not being able to “keep the policy” they currently have.
Also plaguing the roll-out of the program has been a website that has suffered from multiple glitches. The president took responsibility for the problems today at a press appearance:
Obama said he “fumbled” the debut of the Affordable Care Act and let down Democratic supporters who put their political careers on the line to back the president’s signature domestic policy.
“There is no doubt that our failure to roll out the ACA smoothly has put a burden on Democrats, whether they’re running or not, because they stood up and supported this,” Obama said. “I feel deeply responsible for making it harder for them, rather than easier for them.”
(source)
