US President Offers Mea Culpa for Disruptions to ‘Obamacare’ and Announces New Changes

“I was not informed directly that the website would not be working the way it was supposed to … I have decided to introduce important changes to ‘Obamacare.'”*

With this affirmation about being left in the dark about the problems with the site and the promise of a quick turnaround, Barack Obama seeks to rush to a fix and attenuate the political effects of a crisis that threatens to derail the course of his presidency once again.

At a press conference hurriedly organized at the White House, Obama responded to the questions and criticisms that have marked “Obamacare” since its debut in October — from the malfunction of the website to his campaign promise, which did not turn out to be true, that it would be possible for U.S. citizens to keep their old insurance plans.

Regarding the first issue, Obama explained that he was not informed that the website for registering for “Obamacare” had technical problems. The problem should have been fixed already, explained Obama, and the site should be in full swing over the next few months.

Most important and awaited by many Americans was Obama’s next announcement: Those who want to can keep their current insurance plans for another year.

“The bottom line is that insurers can extend current plans that would otherwise be canceled into 2014,” explained the president, who apologized profusely again for having “failed in the launch of the new health care law,”* nevertheless assuring:

“I am confident that by the time we look back on this next year, that people are going to say, ‘This is working well, and it’s helping a lot of people.'”

The change Obama introduced only applies to those who already hold an insurance plan and intend to keep it. Whoever does not have a current insurance plan will not be able to purchase an old policy.

Obama’s speech was a way of straightening out an issue that was about to become — and may have already become — a major problem for many Democrats who face re-election in 2014. Certainly, unpleasant effects could trickle down to the next Democratic candidate for president. So far, the health care reform has been the most significant legislative act of Obama’s presidency — and probably will be until the end of his second term — and the problems of the last few weeks are not bound to make life easy for Democrats in 2016. This is especially true because, right away, Republicans appear poised to want to exploit the issue for political gain. A vote on the health care reform is expected Friday in the House of Representatives, where Republicans hold a majority. Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., has proposed a measure to maintain current health care coverage through 2014 without any administrative sanctions — more or less along the same lines with President Obama’s current proposal.

At this point, not only is the future of the Democratic Party’s 2016 presidential candidate at stake, but also the remaining three years of the current presidency. All the recent polls show a definitive decline in Obama’s approval rating — the latest Rasmussen poll reveals that only 44 percent of voters approve of the president’s performance. Above all, his good will and intellectual honesty are in free fall — a particularly worrying trend, especially because, over the last few years, Obama has been able to count on a considerable level of personal, if not political, respect. The White House had hoped that last week’s interview, in which Obama expressed regret for the inconveniences many Americans have endured, would have succeeded in straightening out the situation. However, this was not the case, and the president has had turn to new excuses and definitive changes to the law.

*Editor’s note: The original quotation, accurately translated, could not be verified.