On His Victory Lap, Obama Aims To Change The Conversation To Ways To Improve The ACA
News reports note that, although President Barack Obama does not expect GOP opponents to back off of their opposition to the health law, he still plans to attempt to reframe the discussion to ways it can be improved. Meanwhile, other talk focuses on what is necessary to ensure the measure's long-term success and how lobbyists are gearing up to secure changes.
Politico:
Barack Obama Takes An Obamacare Victory Lap
White House aides say the president isn’t under any illusions that Republicans will drop their objections to the Affordable Care Act just because the administration won the last Supreme Court fight. So while Obama will “discuss how we can move forward and continue building on the progress made under the Affordable Care Act,” according to the trip announcement, he’s not planning to get confrontational, avoiding the more controversial elements, one official said. In particular, the president intends to praise the efforts of Tennessee’s Republican governor, who has embraced key parts of Obamacare and is working to expand Medicaid in his state, a key part of the health care reforms and a top Obama priority. (Wheaton, 7/1)
The Associated Press:
Obama Aims To Change Conversation Around Health Care Law
President Barack Obama is aiming to change the conversation around his health care law from talk about undoing it to talk of how to make it better. Obama was headed to the Nashville, Tennessee-area on Wednesday to discuss ways to improve the Affordable Care Act, including by extending Medicaid coverage to more low-income people. Tennessee is among about 20 states that have rejected Obama's offer of billions of dollars to help pay to expand the federal-state health care program for the poor. (Superville, 7/1)
The Huffington Post:
If Obamacare Is Here To Stay, It's Going To Need Some Fixing. Here Are 5 Ways How
Obamacare is here to stay. That’s the message from President Barack Obama and other supporters of the Affordable Care Act after their victory at the Supreme Court last week. But dodging a lethal legal bullet is not the same thing as ensuring long-term success. And if health care reform is going to achieve the latter, it’s going to need reforms of its own.
“We’ve got more work to do,” Obama acknowledged after the high court ruled in his favor on Thursday. (Young, 6/30)
The Hill:
Obamacare Ruling Paves Way For Lobbying Blitz
Healthcare lobbyists across Washington are hoping to win long-sought changes to ObamaCare now that the Supreme Court has affirmed the law is here to stay. Last week’s ruling in King v. Burwell has unfrozen the field for dozens of healthcare groups that have been stymied in their efforts to tweak the law while it was still fighting for survival in the courts. (Ferris, 7/1)
The Nashville Tennessean:
Lawmakers Downplay Obama's Impact On Insure Tennessee
The specific issues, bills or lawmakers might change, but if there's any constant within the Republican caucuses in the Tennessee House and Senate, it's this: They aren't big fans of President Barack Obama.
At the same time, Democrats and supporters of Gov. Bill Haslam's controversial Insure Tennessee plan are using the president's visit Wednesday to a Nashville elementary school as their latest rallying cry to push for Haslam's health insurance plan. (Boucher, 6/30)