In an interview with NBC News, President Obama apologized to those Americans who had their substandard insurance policies canceled and are now forced to actually get decent insurance.
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The president said, “I am sorry that they are finding themselves in this situation based on assurances they got from me. We’ve got to work hard to make sure that they know we hear them and we are going to do everything we can to deal with folks who find themselves in a tough position as a consequence of this.”
This entire situation is fairly ridiculous and is being fueled by Republicans spreading stories about people who had $50 a month health insurance plans who are being told by their insurance companies that they can’t keep them. What makes this all so absurd is that the people who are being canceled are having this happen because their insurance is terrible. It doesn’t cover anything, and it definitely wouldn’t protect the policyholder if they suffered any kind of moderate to serious illness.
The president is being forced to apologize for offering these people access to a marketplace where they can buy better insurance. Obama is apologizing for a law that will improve the lives of tens of millions of Americans, and it is all being driven by the political optics. It looks like the president did something bad, so he has to apologize. The reality is that getting away from those ripoff policies is going to be the best thing ever to happen to those who were in the individual marketplace.
Part of the reason why these cancelation notices are such a big deal is because people can’t get on the website and look at what their options are. If the people who are getting these notices could go right to the website and see that there is something better out there for them, a lot of this Republican ginned up cancelled policy hysteria would vanish into thin air.
Only in America could gullible people be misled into getting so upset over having to give something up that was bad for them in favor of something better.
The American people will soon be seeing for themselves what a great deal the ACA is. They will see that Republicans have been lying to them daily for four years, and that President Obama was forced to apologize for nothing.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
