President Obama told activists they need to fight through a wave of negative press stories about Obamacare this year to ensure enrollment numbers go up, and said plans are still affordable despite stories saying premiums will rise sharply in 2017.
“We’re not going to get that much help from the media,” Obama told the more than 25,000 volunteers who joined a White House call with Obama Thursday afternoon. “This is going to be a ground game.”
Obama said volunteers will have to help “clear the mud off the windshield” to get people to sign up.
“There is a faction of people who are continually trying to root for failure, despite the fact that we keep on insuring people and folks continue to get help,” Obama said.
“The bottom line is, most people are going to be pleasantly surprised at how affordable their choices are… if they look for themselves, despite the headlines that don’t always explain that premiums going up doesn’t necessarily translate into” higher premiums for those who qualify for tax credits, he said.
The Obama administration was hit by news this week that average premiums for Obamacare plans brought on the federal exchanges will rise 25 percent in 2017. However, officials have noted that subsidies will help keep the plans affordable for most people.
Most people can find a plan “for less than $75 a month,” Obama said on the call that was closed to media. Most people re-enrolling will see their premiums drop 20 percent, the president claimed.
Obama said there is “incredibly fierce political resistance against giving people health insurance, something I have never fully understood,” Obama said about the political atmosphere leading up to the fourth open enrollment period. He said he doesn’t understand people running for office on a platform of stopping people from getting coverage, and said he would help the effort by doing radio interviews and penning opinion editorials in favor of getting people signed up.
“We’re not letting up,” Obama pledged.
