GOP to vote on alternate plan

Obama tries to ease Democrats’ concerns,

WASHINGTON A contrite President Obama announced a change to his signature Affordable Care Act on Thursday that will allow insurance companies to keep some of the millions of people who received cancellation notices in recent weeks on their health care plans another year.

But his proposed fix, which is intended to assist Americans in the individual insurance market who saw their policies canceled because they didn’t meet minimum benefit requirements set under the ACA, failed to stanch Republican outrage and only temporarily alleviated Democratic unease.

“This fix won’t solve every problem for every person, but it is going to help a lot of people,” said Obama, who has faced criticism because the cancellations came despite his repeated assurances over the past four years that people would be allowed to keep their insurance if they like it.

With Thursday’s announcement, Obama hoped to head off Republican lawmakers who have demanded a legislative remedy to the avalanche of cancellation notices — a call that has been joined by uneasy Democrats, including several senators facing tough 2014 re- election battles.

House Republicans are set to vote today on legislation sponsored by Fred Upton, R- Mich., to allow people to keep their current, canceled plans. Obama’s fix would allow only those whose policies have been canceled in 2013 to re- enroll in their plans for 2014, while the Upton bill would let insurers sell to new customers and would not be limited to just one year.

The White House has dismissed the legislation as designed to undermine the entire ACA by encouraging the healthiest of consumers to enroll in the cheapest, bare- bones plans. House Democratic leaders are crafting an alternative proposal that mirrors the administration’s fix. It won’t pass the GOP- controlled House, but it will give lawmakers a chance to go on record with their position.

Obama dispatched senior aides to Capitol Hill to try to ease Democratic lawmakers’ concerns and limit the number backing Upton’s bill. Frustrations were clear. “Who could be happy with ( the roll- out)?” said Rep. Juan Vargas, D- Calif., “The reality is ( the administration) didn’t do a good job.” Still, most Democrats said they are supportive of the law and will need to work harder to make it succeed.

“We’ve just got to be all- in on implementation,” said Rep. Peter Welch, D- Vt.

Democrats also pressured White House officials to get the website HealthCare. gov fixed by the end of the month. “Getting the website fixed is number one,” said Rep. Elijah Cummings, D- Md.

Upton on Thursday dismissed the president’s administrative fix. “Our main priority should be helping the American people,” Upton said. “Today’s abrupt pivot comes after the White House has spent the last week attacking our thoughtful approach to begin to give peace of mind to those folks worried about losing their affordable health care.”

On the Senate side, some Democrats said their concerns were allayed by Obama’s fix. But a significant few — including Sens. Mary Landrieu, DLa.; Kay Hagan, D- N. C.; and Mark Begich, D- Alaska — said they will continue to work for a legislative fix.

Landrieu called the president’s actions a good “first step” but said she will push her own legislation to require insurers to reinstate canceled plans for existing customers and to send notification letters to consumers on the plans available to them.

But Senate Democratic leaders are wary of reopening the health care law for debate. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D- Ill., announced shortly after meeting with White House officials that there is “no need” for any legislative fixes.

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