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Legal View with Ashleigh Banfield

Obama Speech on Affordable Care Act.

Aired October 21, 2013 - 11:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Explain the difference to going to another website and wanting to purchase a flight ticket and trying to buy health insurance on this Obamacare website.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, it's interesting that you say Amazon. I was speaking to an expert and it's you, Amazon has to talk to the publisher. And this is much more complicated. This is you, the federal government, and many, many insurance carrier whys. This is not an easy thing to do to put together a website for 36 states, each of which has many policies. It's difficult. But the fact that some states, like Kentucky and New York, got it right, tells you that there should be a way to get it right. When he speaks, this is what I'm listening for. What his people have been saying, keep trying, try late at night, try early in the morning. You know what? I did that for weeks and it didn't work. I'm going to be curious to see if he's going to keep saying that or if he's going to say, look, sometimes this isn't going to work, sometimes your going to be frustrated. I'll be interested to see how you relate to the consumer in this way.

BLITZER: We see folks getting ready to stand behind the president as he speaks. I understand, Elizabeth, these are people who have been helped already by Obamacare. And it's unfair to say that everything was just a result of the website. Even earlier a lot of folks were pleased by what Obamacare did, especially young people who could stay on the parents' health care for until the age of 26. There will be success stories but he's also going to make the case that many things need to be done to fix this.

Marc Saltzman, let me bring you back in while we await the president. I think momentarily he'll be coming out. Is it fixable or going to have to go back to basically the beginning and start all over again?

MARC SALTZMAN, TECH GURU: It was proposed by the administration that they could go ahead. Look, why don't we try to start all over again. But I think many of the contractors they've brought onboard said, listen, we can do this, we just need a bit more time. That's the trick. How long do they need? And it would probably be easier to fix the code than start from scratch. Who knows how long that's going to take at that point? So I think the plan is and I'm sure the president will clarify is to keep working on it. You now have other options such as working on using a phone, which is a new button on the website. And then, you know, hope for the best that they can get in ironed out before the first of November is what their goal is.

BLITZER: Marc, the president is being introduced by the woman, the first person of the state of Delaware who succeed in enrolling getting health insurance. Let's listen in.

UNIDENTIFIED FIRST DELAWARE OBAMACARE ENROLLEE: I was able to find a policy I am thrilled with. Saving $150 a month and much lower deductable. I'm here today to encourage other people like me who needs access to quality affordable insurance and to tell them to have patience with such a new system. Without this ability to get this insurance, I know a single hospital stay could have bankrupted me and my business.

Thank you all. And I am now honored to introduce the president of the United States.

(APPLAUSE)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Thank you. Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: Thank you, everybody.

Thank you, Janice (ph). And thanks to everybody here for coming on this beautiful day.

Welcome to the White House. About three weeks ago as the federal government shut down, the Affordable Care Act's health insurance marketplace opened for business across the country. Well, we've now gotten the government back open forever the American people. And today I want to talk about how we're going to get the marketplaces running at full steam as well. I'm joined today by folks who have either benefited from the Affordable Care Act already or by folks that can help them learn for how they can get covered.

And you've probably heard about healthcare.gov hasn't worked as smoothly as it was supposed to work. And the number of people who visit the site has been overwhelming which has aggravated some of these underlying problems. Despite all of that, thousands of people are signing up and saving money as we speak. Many Americans with a preexisting condition, like Janice (ph), are discovering that they can finally get health insurance like everybody else.

So today I want to speak to every American who is looking to get affordable health insurance. I want you to know what's available to you and why it may be a good deal for you. And for those who have had problems with the website, I want to tell you what we're doing to make it work better and how you can sign up to get covered in other ways.

But before I do that, that lets me remind everybody that the Affordable Care Act is not just a website. It's much more. For the vast majority of Americans, for 85 percent of Americans who have health insurance through your employer or Medicare or Medicaid, you don't need to sign up through a website at all. You've got coverage. What the Affordable Care Act does for you is to provide you with new benefits and protections that have been in place for some time. You may not know it, but you're already benefiting from these provisions in the law. For example, young people like jasmine and Jessica and Ezra, all of whom are here today, they've been able to may stay on their parents' plans until they're 26. Millions of young Americans are currently benefiting from that part of law. Another part is providing seniors with deeper discounts on their precipitation medicine. Billions of dollars have been saved by seniors already. That's part of law. It's already in place. It's happening right now. Later because, of the Affordable Care Act, preventive care like mammograms and birth control are free through your employers. That's part of this law. So there are a wide range of consumer protections and benefits that you already have if you've got health insurance. You may not have noticed them, but you've got them. And they're not going anywhere. And they're not dependent on a website.

Here is another thing that the Affordable Care Act does. In states where governors and legislators have wisely allowed it, the Affordable Care Act provides the opportunity for many Americas to get covered under Medicaid for the first time. So in Oregon, for example, that's helped cut the number of uninsured people by 10 percent just in the last three weeks. Think about that. That's 56,000 more Americans who now have health care. That doesn't depend on a website. Now, if you're one of the 15 percent of Americans who don't have health insurance, either because you can't afford it or because your employer doesn't offer it or because you're a small business person and you have to go out on the individual market and buy it on your own and it's just too expensive, October 1st was an important date. That's when we opened the new marketplaces where people without health insurance or who can't afford health insurance or who aren't part of a group plan can finally start getting affordable coverage.

And the idea is simple. By enrolling in what we're calling these marketplaces, you become part of a big group plan. As if you were working for a big employer. A statewide group plan that spreads risks between sick people and healthy people, between young and old, and then bargains on your behalf for the best deal on health care. What we've done is essentially created competition where there wasn't competition before. We've created these big group plans, and now insurers are really interested in get your business. So insurers have created new health care plans with more choices to be made available through these marketplaces. And as a result of this choice and this competition, prices have come down.

When you add the new tax credits that many people are eligible for through the law, then the prices come down even further. So one study shows that through knew options created by the Affordable Care Act, nearly six in ten uninsured Americans can find that they can get covered for less than $100 a month. Think about that. Through the marketplaces you can get health insurance for what may be the equivalent of your cell phone bill. Or your cable bill. And that's a good deal. So the fact is, the product of the Affordable Care Act for people without health insurance is quality health insurance that's affordable. And that product is working. It's really good. And it turns out there's a massive demand for it. So far the national website, healthcare.gov, has been visited nearly 20 million times. 20 million times. And there's great demand at the state level as well. Because there are a bunch of states running their own marketplaces. We know that nearly one third of the people applying in Connecticut and Maryland, for example, are under 35 years old. They understand that they can get a good deal at low costs, have the security of health care, and this is not just for old folks like me. That everybody needs good, quality health insurance. And all told more than half a million consumers across the cup have successfully submitted applications through federal and state marketplaces. And many of those applications aren't just for individuals, it's for their entire families.

Even more people are already looking to potentially take advantage of the high quality, affordable insurance that is provided through the Affordable Care Act. So, let me just recap here. The product is good. The health insurance that's being provided is good. It's high quality and it's affordable. People can save money, significant money, by getting insurance that's being provided through these marketplaces. And we know that the demand is there. People are rushing to see what's available. And those who have already had a chance to enroll are thrilled with the result. Every day people who were stuck with sky-high premiums because of preexisting conditions are getting affordable health care for the first time or finding that they're saving a lot of money. Every day women are finally finding comp that doesn't charge them higher premiums than men for the same care. Every day people are discovering that new health insurance plans have to cover maternity care, mental health care, preventive care.

You just heard Janice (ph)'s story. She owns her own small business. She recently became the first woman to enroll in coverage through Delaware's exchange. And it's true. It took her a few tries. But it was worth it. After being turned down for insurance three times due to minor preexisting conditioned. Now she'll be covered. She'll save 150 bucks a month and she won't have to worry that it will might cost her her business that she's worked to hard to build. And Janice (ph) is not alone. I recently received a letter from a woman named Jessica. Here is what she wrote. I am a single mom, no child support, self-employed, and I haven't had insurance for 15 years because it's too expensive. My son has ADHD and requires regular doctor visits. And his meds alone cost $250 per month. I've had an ongoing tendonitis problem due to my line of work that I haven't had treated. Now finally we get to have coverage because of the ACA for $169 per month. I was crying the other day when I signed up, so much stress lifted. Now, that is not untypical for a lot of folks like Jessica who have been struggling without health insurance. That's what the Affordable Care Act is all about. The point is, the essence of the law, the health insurance that's available to people, is working just fine. In some cases, actually, it's exceeding expectations. The prices are lower than expected and the choice is greater than we expected. But, the problem has been that the website that's supposed to make it easy to apply for and purchase the insurance is not working the way it should for everybody. There's no sugarcoating it. The website has been too slow, people are getting stuck during the application process. And I think it's fair to say that nobody is more frustrated by that than I am. Precisely because the product is good. I want the cash register to work. I want the checkout lines to be smooth. So I want people to be able to get this great product. And there's no excuse for the problems. And it's -- these problems are getting fixed. But while we're working out the kinks in the system, I want everybody to understand the nature of the problem.

First of all, even with all of the problems at healthcare.gov, the website is still working for a lot of people. Just not as quick or efficient or consistent as went. And although many of these folks found they had to wait longer than they wanted, once they complete the process they're very happy with the deal that's available to them. Just like Janice (ph) is.

Second, I want everybody to remember that we're only three weeks into a six-month open enrollment period when you can buy these new plans. Keep in mind, the insurance doesn't start until January 1st. That's the earliest that the insurance can kick in. No one who decides to purchase a plan has to pay their efficiency premium until December 15th. And unlike the day after thanksgiving sales for the latest play station or flat-screen TVs, the insurance plans don't run out. They're not going to sell out. They'll be available through the marketplace throughout the open enrollment period. The prices that insurers' have set will not change. So everybody who wants insurance through the marketplace will get insurance. Period. Everybody who wants insurance through the marketplace will get insurance.

Third, we are doing everything we can possibly do to get the websites working better, faster, sooner. We've got people working overtime, 24/7 to boost capacity and address the problems. Experts from some of American's top private companies who have seen things like this happen before. They want it to work and they're reaching out and offering to send help. We've had some of the best talent to join the team and we are confident that we will get all of the problems fixed.

Number four. While the web side will ultimately be the easiest way to buy insurance through the marketplace, it isn't the only way. I want to emphasize this. Even as we redouble our efforts to get the site working as well as it's supposed to, we're also redoubling our efforts to make sure you can still buy the same quality, affordable insurance plans available on the marketplace the old-fashioned way offline, over the phone or in person. And by the way, there are a lot of people who want to take advantage of this who are more comfortable working on the phone anyway or in person.

Let me go through the specifics as to how you can do that if you're having problems with the website or you just prefer dealing with a person. Yesterday we updated the website's home page to offer more information about the other avenues to enroll in affordable health care until the online opposition works for everybody. You'll find information about how to talk to a specialist who can help you apply over the phone. Or to receive a downloadable application that you can fill out yourself and mail in. We've also added more staff to the call centers where you can apply for insurance over the phone. Those have already -- they've been working. But a lot of people have decided first to go to the web assignment. But keep in mind, these call centers are already up and running. And you can get your questions answered by the phone number for these call centers is 1- 800-318-2596. I want to repeat that, 1-800-318-2596. Wait times have averaged less than one minute so far on the call centers. Although I admit that the wait times probably might go up a little bit now that I've read the number out loud on national television.

But the point is, the call centers are available. You can talk to somebody directly and they can walk you through the application process. And I guarantee you if one thing's worth the wait, it's the safety and security of health care that you can afford or the amount of money that you can save by buying health insurance through the marketplaces. Once you get on phone with a trained representative, it usually takes about 25 minutes for an individual to apply for coverage, about 45 minutes for a family. Once you apply for coverage, you'll be contacted by mail, by e-mail or postal mail about your coverage status.

But you don't have to just go through the phone. You can also apply in person with the help of local navigators. These are people especially trained to help you sign up for health care and they exist all across the country. Or you can go to community health centers and hospitals. Just visit localhelp.healthcare.gov to find out where in your area you can get help and apply for insurance in person.

And finally, if you've already tried to apply through the website and you've been stuck somewhere along the way, do not worry. In the coming weeks, we will contact you directly. Personally with a concrete recommendation for how you can complete your application, shop for coverage, pick a plan that meets your needs, and get covered once and for all.

So here's the bottom line. The product, the health insurance is good. The prices are good. It is a good deal. People don't just want it. They're showing up to buy it. Nobody's madder than me about the fact that the website isn't working as well as it should, which means it's going to get fixed. And -- and in the meantime, you can bypass the website and apply by phone or in person. So don't let problems with the website deter you from signing up or signing your family up, or showing your friends how to sign up. Because it is worth it. It will save you money.

If you don't have health insurance, if you've got a pre-existing condition, it will save you money and it will give you the security that your family needs. In fact, even with the website issues, we've actually made the overall process of buying insurance through the marketplace a lot smoother and easier than the old way of buying insurance on your own. Part of the challenge here is that a lot of people may not remember what it's like to buy insurance the traditional way. The way we've set it up, there are no more absurdly long application forms. There's no medical history questionnaire that goes on for pages and pages. There's no more getting denied because you've had a pre-existing condition. Instead of contacting a bunch of different insurers one at a time, which is what Janice (ph) and a lot of people who were shopping on the individual market for health insurance had to do, there's one single place you can go shop and compare plans that have to compete for your business. There's one single phone number you can call for help. And once the kinks in the website have been ironed out, it will be even smoother and even easier. But in the meantime, we will help you sign up. Because consumers want to buy this product and insurance companies want to sell it to you.

Let me close by addressing some of the politics that have swirled around the Affordable Care Act. I recognize that the Republican Party has made block the Affordable Care Act its signature policy idea. Sometimes it seems to be the one thing that unifies the party these days. In fact, they were willing to shut down the government and potentially harm the global economy to try to get it repealed. And I'm sure that given the problems with the website so far, they're going to be looking to go after it even harder. And let's admit it, with the website not working as well as it needs to work, that makes a lot of supporters nervous because they know how it's been subject to so much attack, the Affordable Care Act generally.

But I just want to remind everybody, we did not wage long and con tenuous battle just around a website. That's not what this was about. We waged this battle to make sure that millions of Americans in the wealthiest nation on earth finally have the same chance to get the same security of affordable, quality health care as anybody else. That's what this is about. And the Affordable Care Act has done that. People can now get good insurance. People with pre-existing conditions can now afford insurance. And if the launch of this website problems anything, it's that people across the country don't just need that security, they want that security. They want it.

And in the meantime, I've said many times, I am willing to work with anyone on any idea to make this law perform even better. But it's time for folks to stop rooting for its failure because hard working middle class families are rooting for its success. And if the product is good, they're willing to be patient. I got a letter last week from a self-employed man named John Myer, in Pennsylvania. He used the new marketplace to get himself and his wife covered and save a lot of money, and here's what he said. Because it pretty much sums up my message today. Yes, the website really stank for first week. But instead of paying $1600 per month for a group insurance plan, we have a plan that will only cost us $692 a month, a savings of $900 per month. John said that while he saw -- when he saw what they'd be paying, he turned to his wife and told her, we might just pull through. We can afford this. And John eventually predicted that the website will work like a champ. So John's -- he was frustrated by website. But he's feeling a little less frustrated once he found out that he was saving 900 bucks a month on his health insurance. And John's right. The website's going to get fixed. And the law works. That's why we fought so hard to pass this law, to save folks like John money. To give people who don't have health insurance the chance to get it for the first time, to lift from the American people the crushing burden of unaffordable health care. To free families from the pervasive fear that one ill illness -- I got you. No, no, you're OK. This happens when I talk too long.

(LAUGHTER)

You'll be OK. You got her? Come on. Good catch, by the way. Whoever was here.

(LAUGHTER)

But that's always our goal, to free families from the pervasive fear that one illness or one injury might cost you everything that you dedicated a lifetime to build. Our goal has always been to declare that in this country, the security of health care is not a privilege for a fortunate few. It's a right for all to enjoy.

(APPLAUSE)

That's what the Affordable Care Act's all about. That's its promise. And I intend to deliver on that promise.

Thank you very much, everybody. God bless you.

(APPLAUSE)

Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

BLITZER: All right. So there he is, the president of the United States in the Rose Garden making a 25-minute or so, maybe 26-minute pitch, if you will, for the Affordable Care Act. Acknowledging he is frustrated. He does not like the way the website has worked these first three weeks. Nobody he says is more frustrated than I am. No sugar coating he says, but it's going to get fixed. He guarantees it. Didn't say when exactly it will be completely fixed but he said people are working around the clock to make it work. We've got a full analysis coming up as the president goes back into the Oval Office right now.