Democrats Remain Wary Of President’s Canceled Plans Fix
President Obama's canceled insurance plans fix has satisfied neither many Democrats -- some of whom face reelections in 2014 and remain unhappy with the fix -- nor Republicans, who will again vote Friday on a bill to undermine the law.
The Washington Post: Health Care Law's Problems Test Loyalty Of Democrats In Congress
The political fallout from the botched launch of the health care law is presenting congressional Democrats with one of their toughest tests of party loyalty in the five years of the Obama administration. House Republicans are expected to pass a bill Friday that could dramatically undermine the law. And after years of trying to impale the initiative, GOP leaders are hopeful that the political turmoil over the rollout will provide them the support of a sizable bloc of Democrats (Kane and Kucinich, 11/14).
Bloomberg: Democrats With 2014 Races Unhappy With Obama Health Fix
President Barack Obama's one-year reprieve for Americans losing health insurance achieved at least one political aim: slow a Democratic rush toward a Republican bill to curtail Obamacare coming to a vote today in the House. Obama's hour-long display of contrition yesterday over his health care law, though, fell short of quelling the longer-term political crisis engulfing the president and his party over the botched rollout of the increasingly unpopular program (Davis and Bender, 11/15).
USA Today: Obama's Health Care Fix Doesn't Allay Dems' Jitters
But his proposed fix, which is intended to assist Americans in the individual insurance market who saw their policies canceled because they didn't meet minimum benefit requirements set under the ACA, failed to stanch Republican outrage and only temporarily alleviated Democratic unease over the problems arising from the law's rollout (Madhani and Davis, 11/14).
Politico: Trust Frays Between Obama, Democrats
When Denis McDonough stepped onto House Democrats' turf on Thursday, he was armed only with a PowerPoint presentation on fixing Obamacare's website and talking points about the president's proposal allowing people to keep their health care plans. The White House chief of staff might have been better off revealing a U.S. map with the president's plan for saving congressional Democrats' seats -- or just apologizing for letting so many Democrats walk out in public and repeat wildly inaccurate White House claims about the health of the enrollment website and Americans' ability to keep their insurance plans if they liked them (Allen and Sherman, 11/14).
NBC News: Still Skittish: Wary Dems Aren't Satisfied By Obamacare 'Fix'
The White House is receiving mixed reactions from allies in Washington as it tries to soothe growing unease among Democrats on Capitol Hill about the implementation of the health reform law so many of them risked their careers to pass. Many Democrats remained publicly skittish even after President Barack Obama announced a fix to the Affordable Care Act intended to honor his commitment that consumers can keep their health plans if they so desire, even if those plans are considered subpar by new standards contained in the law (O’Brien, 11/14).
CBS News: Despite Obamacare Fix, Fight Rages On In Congress
After hearing serious concerns from both Democrats and Republicans over the fact that millions of Americans are being dropped from insurance plans that no longer meet Obamacare standards, President Obama on Thursday offered a contrite apology and an administrative solution to the issue. The debate over the matter, however, isn't slowing down in Congress. The Republican-led House on Friday is voting on a bill called the "Keep Your Health Plan Act," which offers a policy change not far off from the president's solution. The legislation, which would allow plans that existed on the individual market as of Jan. 1, 2013 to stay in effect through 2014, has 161 bipartisan co-sponsors. Liberal Democrats, however, called the legislation a deceptive effort to undermine the Affordable Care Act (Condon, 11/15).
CNN: House Democrats Cool Down After Obamacare Meeting
What a difference a day makes. On Wednesday, House Democrats lit into White House officials who couldn't explain how President Barack Obama planned to make good on his failed promise that Americans could keep their health insurance under Obamacare if they preferred. But by Thursday afternoon, rank-and-file members appeared to have cooled down after a closed-door session with White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough (Walsh, 11/14).
PBS NewsHour: House Members Debate Obama's Proposed Fix To Insurance Cancellations
President Obama's idea to temporarily lessen the blow for Americans whose existing insurance policies were canceled has garnered mixed reviews on Capitol Hill. Gwen Ifill gets reaction from Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., and Rep. James Lankford, R-Okla. (Ifill, 11/14).