Obama to make announcement on struggling healthcare program
WASHINGTON – President Obama will make an announcement Thursday morning about his troubled healthcare law, the White House said.
Obama is widely expected to announce his plans to address the millions of cancellation notices insurers have sent to consumers in recent weeks. Obama had promised that his law would not force consumers to change insurance plans.
Under pressure from Democrats on Capitol Hill, Obama said last week he would find a solution to the problem. Since then, the White House has been scrambling to devise a fix that will quiet Democrats nervous about political backlash.
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Some Democratic lawmakers have threatened to support a Republican proposal due for a vote Friday. The White House opposes the bill, sponsored by Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), saying it would undo needed reforms in the law.
The White House has also been reluctant to fully endorse a bill proposed by Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.), which would allow consumers to keep their current plans, even if the plans don’t meet new standards set by the law.
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Kathleen Hennessey was a White House correspondent from 2011-15. She also covered Congress and national politics from Washington, and previously wrote about Nevada politics for the Associated Press. She is native of Minnesota and holds degrees from Boston College and UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism.