President Praises Obamacare and Vows 'We're Not Going Back'
Launching a renewed push to tout the benefits of his signature health care reform law, President Obama today insisted the Affordable Care Act is working and warned Republicans that "we're not going back."
After the first two months of enrollment were plagued with technical problems, the president is attempting to focus the public's attention on the positive aspects of the law. "Now that the website's working for the vast majority of people, we need to make sure that folks refocus on what's at stake here," he said at a White House event.
"What's important for everybody to remember is not only that the law has already helped millions of people, but that there are millions more who stand to be helped. And we've got to make sure they know that," he said.
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The event kicked off a three-week public relations campaign ahead of the Dec. 23 deadline for consumers to enroll for coverage starting on Jan. 1. Every day between now and then, the White House and its allies will highlight different benefits of the law to try and sell the American people on the necessity of the Affordable Care Act and encourage people to sign up.
The president recognized that "we may never satisfy the law's opponents" and challenged Republicans to put forth their own plan to reform the nation's health care system.
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"You got good ideas? Bring them to me. Let's go. But we're not repealing it as long as I'm president. I want everybody to be clear about that," he said to applause.
"Right now what this law's doing is helping folks, and we're just getting started with the exchanges, just getting started with the marketplaces. So we're not going to walk away from it," he said.