During the debate over the Affordable Care Act, President Obama repeatedly emphasized that people would have the ability to maintain the coverage that they had prior to the implementation of the program.
In June 2009, in a speech to the American Medical Association, Obama said, “That means that no matter how we reform health care, we will keep this promise to the American people: If you like your doctor, you will be able to keep your doctor, period. If you like your health-care plan, you’ll be able to keep your health-care plan, period. No one will take it away, no matter what.” This guarantee became a staple of President Obama’s speeches during efforts to pass the health care legislation.
Recently, various media outlets have emphasized the cancellation of plans that do not meet the new federal standard for health insurance coverage. Plans must provide insurance in 10 different categories, including maternity services and substance abuse services, and, as of 2011, 62 percent of plans did not cover maternity services. There is an allowance for “grandfathering” plans, but the requirements are so stringent as to prevent the maintenance of most plans for more than a few years. In Oregon, officials estimate that by the end of this year, 150,000 people in their state alone will have their plans canceled. Hundreds of thousands of people nationwide will be notified of the impending cancellation of their policies.
In a recent New York Times Op-Ed piece, “Insurance Policies Not Worth Keeping,” the paper’s editorial board defends Obama’s statements by saying that the president “clearly misspoke,” but that the controversy over Obama’s apparent lie is “overblown.” The piece advises readers to consider the purpose of health care reform, rather than reacting strongly to the “mistake.” The plans that the bill is cancelling are vastly inferior to the coverage that insurance companies will be obliged to provide, though often at a higher cost.
The question of whether the new insurance plans better serve the common good than the old insurance system is surely important, but the fact that Obama backed away from his guarantees is also important.
Obama now claims that throughout the passage of the Affordable Care Act, it was understood that you could keep your health care plan if it had not changed since the law passed. Though it is true that the Affordable Care Act included this stipulation, it is inconsistent with the president’s previous rhetoric. Either the president lied, intentionally misled the American people in order to encourage the adoption of the legislation or he did not fully understand the Affordable Care Act. Clearly, none of these are appealing options. The president of the United States has an obligation to accurately represent his initiatives to the public, and this controversy tarnishes the reputation of this administration, which is already battling accusations of dishonesty in the wake of the NSA scandals.
