President Obama announces new policy allowing health insurance extensions in a press conference Nov. 14.
Seeking to make good on his promise that people could keep their policies under Obamacare, the president apologized and offered the possibility of one-year extensions of insurance policies that do not deliver the Affordable Care Act’s essential health benefits.
“We fumbled the rollout of this healthcare law,” President Obama admitted. “That’s on me.” (Video below)
The president’s announcement of Nov. 14 came as many Democrats appeared ready to support legislation that offers indefinite extensions and also would allow other consumers to buy the outdated policies.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who co-sponsored the legislation, said Obama’s new policy was “an important recognition that some people feel strongly about keeping their current plans.” She praised the president for his flexibility.
(Update: The House approved a Republican bill Nov. 15 that extends the policies and allows insurers to sell similar policies. The vote was 261 to 157.)
Covered California, the state exchange, said it was “trying to quickly determine how the president’s new guidance will be fulfilled for Californians.”
Insurance companies are not required to offer extensions of non-compliant healthcare policies, but they are allowed to do so under Obama’s order.
The health insurance trade group in California blasted the decision. “Reversing course now could cause a significant disruption in the marketplace, given that rates and benefit plans for 2014 have already been set by Covered California,” said Patrick Johnson, head of the California Association of Health Plans.
Noting that “California’s exchange is well ahead of the rest of the country,” Johnson said the state “needs to stay the course.”
He warned: “The entire underlying premise of the ACA — balancing costs of the young, old, sick and healthy — has been left adrift with this announcement.”
A Covered California spokesman told the L.A. Times that the exchange “understands the urgent need for clarity around this segment of policy and is working closely with health plans, regulators and policy makers to quickly determine how the president’s new guidance will be fulfilled for Californians.”
Feinstein said more turmoil could lie ahead: “This is a complex law, and it remains to be seen if other changes will be needed should more unintended consequences arise. Time will tell.”
The California insurance commissioner has warned that those eligible for subsidies via Covered California would be hurting themselves by extending the outdated policies.
Still, Commissioner Dave Jones said he “asked Covered California to take this action immediately so that health insurers are free then from this contract provision and can follow the president’s request, and my request, that they allow their existing customers to renew their policies into 2014.”
Covered California participant Kaiser Permanente said of the White House policy change: “Our common goal should be to minimize any unintended effects, and avoid as much as possible further disruption for individuals and families who are already seeing significant change as a result of health care reform.”
In the past 10 days, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield were told by the state to offer extensions after failing to give some of their customers a 90-day notice of cancellations. The insurance carriers would not have to provide further extensions under Obama’s order.
In Washington, Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., said she would continue to offer her legislation concerning the cancellations, billed as the Keeping the Affordable Care Act Promise Act. Sen. Feinstein of California was among the Democrats backing what she called “a commonsense fix.”
Obama said the policy shift didn’t change the goals of the Affordable Care Act: “There are also 40 million Americans who don’t have health insurance. And I am not going to walk away from 40 million people who have the chance to get health insurance for the first time.”
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