REUNITED: Obama said he and Biden accomplished 'a lot” in their eight years but “nothing made me prouder than providing better health care and more protections to millions of people across this country.” More:
“It's good to be back in the White House. It's been awhile," he said after Vice President Kamala Harris introduced him in the East Room. Obama opened by referring to Biden as “vice president" before acknowledging that was a “set up” joke and embracing his former No. 2.
Biden called the Affordable Care Act the most consequential legislation since Medicare and Medicaid were created in 1965, and insisted it must be expanded to more people. At Tuesday’s event, Biden signed an executive order to close a “family glitch” in implementation of the 2010 law that his administration believes will help 200,000 more people gain affordable coverage.Obama warmed up the crowd with a few dead-pan jokes about how things around the White House had changed under Biden, leaning into the current occupant’s affinity for sunglasses and ice cream and his taste in pets.
As for “Obamacare,” the law's staying power has been enhanced by three Supreme Court victories and the late Sen. John McCain's emphatic thumbs-down vote that took the wind out of then-President Trump’s efforts to repeal and replace it. Obama referred to the health care law as a “starter home” that Americans can build upon, gradually reducing the 9% share of the population that remains uninsured. The rate was nearly 15% in 2013, before the coverage provisions of the law took effect. Between the health law's Medicaid expansion and its health insurance markets, more than 30 million people are now estimated to be getting coverage.
But the issue with the current interpretation is that affordability is determined by the cost for employee-only coverage, and not more expensive family policies. Workers able to afford their own share may not be able to cover premiums for the entire family. So the family is cut out of ACA coverage.
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