With news of the Obama-care rollout cascading from bad to worse, and even Bill Clinton declaring that Americans should be allowed to keep the coverage they have, members of Congress are scrambling to come up with fixes that satisfy public complaints.
For Democrats, the trick is to propose reforms that don’t undermine the basic structure of the Affordable Care Act, which they’ve supported.
Enter Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., who announced Wednesday he is sponsoring legislation that would allow Americans whose insurance has been canceled because of Obamacare — including many Coloradans — to keep it for two years.
Udall’s bill wouldn’t fully rectify the sense of betrayal that some Americans feel about President Obama’s promises that they could keep their coverage and their doctors. However, the senator understandably worries that a longer extension would undermine the ability of the Obamacare exchanges to provide affordable coverage. That’s because those seeking insurance in the exchanges are more likely to be older, sicker and poorer than those with canceled individual plans — and premiums could skyrocket with a skewed risk pool.
That’s a reasonable concern, and so is Udall’s idea of a temporary reprieve for those with canceled policies.
It’s hard to imagine a more troubled first six weeks of a major new social program, but at least the utterly incompetent management of the federal website, which has suppressed signups, is something that can be fixed.
By contrast, the fact that the public was misled over how the program would work is a much more difficult obstacle to overcome, if indeed it’s possible.