Obama apologizes for his 'you can keep it' promise as some Americans face health insurance cancellations

Nov 10 2013

President Barack Obama issued the apology in an interview with NBC News that aired Thursday evening. He also said his administration was working on a fix for the problem.

NBC News: Exclusive: Obama Personally Apologizes For Americans Losing Health Coverage
President Obama said Thursday that he is "sorry" that some Americans are losing their current health insurance plans as a result of the Affordable Care Act, despite his promise that no one would have to give up a health plan they liked. "I am sorry that they are finding themselves in this situation based on assurances they got from me," he told NBC News in an exclusive interview at the White House (Todd, 11/7).

The New York Times: Apologizing, Obama Yields To Criticism Of Health Law
President Obama bowed Thursday night to mounting criticism that he had misled the American people about the health care law, apologizing to people who were forced off their health insurance plans by the Affordable Care Act despite "assurances from me" (Shear, 11/7).

McClatchy: Analysis: Tens Of Millions Could Be Forced Out Of Health Insurance They Had
Some or much of that loss of favored insurance is driven by normal year-to-year changes such as employers changing plans to save money. And many people could end up with better plans. But it is not what the president pledged. Caught in the firestorm of his broken promise, Obama on Thursday apologized (Hall and Kumar, 11/7).

Los Angeles Times: Obama 'Sorry' For Health Insurance Cancellations
President Obama apologized Thursday for the fact that some people are losing their current health insurance plans even though he had told Americans they could keep their plans if they wanted to, saying his administration was working on changes to his healthcare law to address the problem. "I am sorry that they are finding themselves in this situation based on assurances they got from me," the president told NBC News in an interview that aired Thursday evening (Parsons and Hennessey, 11/7).

The Washington Post: President Obama Apologizes To Americans Who Are Losing Their Health Insurance
The president said he had asked his staff to see whether there was an administrative fix to preserve insurance for some Americans who may have lost their coverage and do not qualify for subsidies that would make new policies affordable. "I've assigned my team to see what we can do to close some of the holes and gaps in the law," he said, "because, you know, my intention is to lift up and make sure the insurance that people buy is effective -; that it's actually going to deliver what they think they're purchasing" (Eilperin, 11/7).

The Wall Street Journal: Obama Apologizes For Insurance Cancellations
President Barack Obama said Thursday he was sorry that thousands of Americans were losing their health insurance, expressing regret for the first time that the Affordable Care Act hadn't lived up to his promise that people who liked their coverage could keep it. Mr. Obama said he had intended to make good on his pledge but the administration wasn't as clear as it should have been in describing the changes the new health law would bring. Now, facing a chorus of complaints as many people receive notice that their plans have been canceled, Mr. Obama signaled he was open to some kind of relief, although he didn't give specifics (Nelson, 11/7).

The Wall Street Journal: How Obama's Language Has Shifted On Insurance
President Barack Obama, in an interview with NBC News, said he was sorry that many Americans were losing their current coverage, despite promises by the White House that people who were happy with their coverage could keep their plan. Here is what the president said in the interview, compared with previous statements on the issue (11/7).

The Associated Press/Washington Post: Obama To Americans Losing Health Care Coverage Because Of New Law: 'I Am Sorry'
Officials said the president was referring to fixes his administration could make on its own, not legislative options proposed by congressional lawmakers. The president's apology comes as the White House tries to combat a cascade of troubles surrounding the rollout of the health care law, often referred to as "Obamacare" (11/7).

USA Today: Obama Says He Is Sorry For 'You Can Keep It' Declaration
The comments, which Obama made in an interview with NBC News, come as he faces a steady stream of criticism as millions of Americans on the individual insurance market received notices that their plans do not meet the minimum benefit requirements set under the ACA and will be canceled (Madhani, 11/7).

Politico: Barack Obama: 'I Am Sorry'
President Barack Obama offered an apology Thursday to those Americans who have been told they're losing their health insurance plans, contrary to his promise that no one would be forced off a plan they wanted to keep. "I am sorry that they are finding themselves in this situation based on assurances they got from me," the president said in a Thursday interview with NBC News, offering his first mea culpa for an issue that's generated negative headlines for the White House for the past two weeks (Epstein, 11/7).

Bloomberg: Obama Says He's Sorry Over Americans Losing Health Plans
President Barack Obama said he's sorry that thousands of Americans are losing their medical insurance as a result of his health-care law, as his administration works to contain the political damage from the troubled rollout of his signature domestic achievement. Hundreds of thousands of individual health insurance plans are being canceled, contradicting Obama's repeated pledge that people who like their coverage would be able to keep it when the law took effect (Lere, 11/8).

CNN: Obamacare: After Obama's Apology, Talk OF Solutions And – Still – The Website
Some insurance companies also appear to be canceling policies for other reasons, such as withdrawing from states where they have fewer subscribers. The president contends many of the people who have received cancellation notices actually will wind up with better coverage at lower cost. But he acknowledged that's a hard sell when people are still having trouble logging onto the Obamacare website to enroll (Simpson, 11/8).