Healthcare.gov is actually working this year, but President Obama said hardly anything about his signature healthcare law in his speech Tuesday besides promising to defend it from GOP attacks.
The president has touted the Affordable Care Act every year since it was passed in 2010 — including last year, when the law’s insurance marketplace had barely recovered from its tumultuous launch. This year, he noted that about 10 million uninsured Americans have gained coverage since the law was passed, and he threatened to veto any bill that sought to undo that part of it.
“We can’t put the security of families at risk by taking away their health insurance, or unraveling the new rules on Wall Street, or refighting past battles on immigration when we’ve got a system to fix,” Obama said. “If a bill comes to my desk that tries to do any of these things, I will veto it. It will have earned my veto.”
But instead of elaborating further on his law’s successes so far, Obama called for more medical research targeting challenging diseases like cancer and diabetes and for developing more personalized treatments based on a person’s genetic makeup. That issue already has some bipartisan traction in Congress, with a series of hearings led over the past year by Reps. Fred Upton, R-Mich., and Diana DeGette, D-Colo.
“We have to come together and tackle the issues that are most important to the American people,” Upton said in response to the address. “We have a great opportunity before us this Congress to make a positive and lasting difference. It’s time to get to work, Republicans and Democrats together, and get the job done.”
The president also praised the work of healthcare workers assisting with Ebola efforts but also called for a “more effective global effort” to prevent future epidemics.
But Republicans had plenty to say about Obamacare. Sen. Joni Ernst, who gave the GOP response, vowed that her party will “keep working to repeal and replace a healthcare law that’s hurt so many hardworking families.
“We see the hurt caused by canceled healthcare plans and higher monthly insurance bills,” Ernst said. “Americans have been hurting, but when we demanded solutions, too often Washington responded with the same stale mindset that led to failed policies like Obamacare.”
Some palpable challenges lie ahead for the health law. It faces another Supreme Court challenge in March, as the justices prepare to take up a case that could result in the law’s insurance subsidies being blocked from low- and middle-income consumers in most states.
And some unpopular parts of the law — those mandates that Republicans often talk about — are kicking in, bringing more Americans face-to-face with Obamacare than ever before.
As of January, businesses with more than 100 employees must offer their employees affordable health coverage. Starting next year, that requirement will include employers with more than 50 workers.
And for the first time, people must say whether they had health coverage in 2014 as they file their taxes. If they didn’t have coverage — and don’t qualify for an exemption from it — they’ll have to pay a penalty.
Still, it would have been easier for Obama to cheer the law’s outcome this year, compared to last year. The 10 million people he referred to are made up of new Medicaid enrollees and those who have purchased health insurance plans on healthcare.gov. That number will likely grow over the next few weeks, as the second year of enrollment wraps up.
When the website first launched in October 2013, visitors to the site were plagued by crashing web pages and long wait times, prompting the administration to institute a intensive “tech surge” to fix it. By the time Obama delivered his State of the Union address, the it had only been fully functional for several weeks.
But in that speech, Obama didn’t mention healthcare.gov’s rough launch. Instead, he touted the law’s benefits for low-income Americans, those with pre-existing conditions and young people — at one point telling moms to “get on your kids to sign up.”
Advocates for the 2010 healthcare law have tried to increase its popularity by telling stories of individual Americans benefiting from it. Just like last year, Obama and first lady Michelle Obama invited guests who are getting healthcare because of its provisions — although the president didn’t specifically refer to them during his speech.
One guest was able to buy a plan on healthcare.gov while he was between jobs, while another guest who owns a small business in Colorado enrolled in coverage via her state’s insurance marketplace.
A third guest gained coverage even though she had a brain tumor — a condition that could have jeopardized her chances for insurance before the Affordable Care Act.
