As Obamacare continues to come under bipartisan attack, Nancy Pelosi offered a full-throated praise of the law, saying she wished it would’ve gone further.
The House minority leader, speaking to reporters Wednesday morning, said she wants to “say every chance I get how proud we are of” Obamacare.
“It was a heavy lift to pass,” Pelosi said of the 2010 law, which she helped write and shepherd through the House. “I myself would’ve preferred single payer or public option, but this was a compromise, this is a compromise. But it does many of the things that we would’ve done under a public option. So we have a plan that is named affordable. That’s a very important word. Affordable. Because no matter what people say about whether they like their plan or not, their plan was not going to be their plan. Everybody’s premiums were going up.”
Pelosi’s defense came as Health and Human Secretary Kathleen Sebelius was testifying about the law’s glitches to the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
House Republicans are not only seizing on the flawed website – which the Obama administration says they will fix – but also that some Americans appear to be getting kicked off their current insurance plans, despite promises from President Barack Obama that that wouldn’t happen. Pelosi said that represents a small portion of Americans, who shop for insurance on the individual market.
“In terms of this 5 percent, the fact is the president said if you like your plan, you can keep your plan and they had a plan in 2010, they can keep their plan,” Pelosi said. “They can still keep their plan, but if they want all of the benefits at a lower, more affordable cost then they have options available to them. And for some of them, it may even involve a subsidy, that depends on their income and their financial situation. I’m thrilled about the overarching plan. This is life, a healthier life, liberty to pursue your happiness, as our founders promised.
Glitches will be worked out, and again, there’s a lot of education that has to be done on something that is new.”
Via: Politico
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