.Healthcare.gov is now working well enough for the Obama administration to relaunch its marketing campaign to get Americans signed up for the exchange. "Today the website is working well for the vast majority of users." President Obama said in a statement on the Affordable Care Act on Tuesday afternoon." Presumably having learned a valuable lesson about confident statements on the website's functionality, Obama added, "more problems could pop up...and when they do, we'll fix those too."
Obama spoke on Tuesday at the start of a three-week campaign to boost sign-ups. The deadline for exchange coverage starting January 1st is December 23rd, and it looks like the White House has planned daily events between now and then to boost public perception of the law. "Now that the website's working for the vast majority...we need to refocus," the president said.
"We're not gonna go back," Obama said, presumably referring to numerous efforts to repeal the law by congressional Republicans. "We are not repealing it as long as I am President." He asked those Americans who aren't totally against the law on principle to help "spread the word" about it. "I'm gonna need some help," Obama said. He continued: "I need you to spread the word about the law, its benefits, its protections, about how you can sign up."
The marketing campaign is aimed, no doubt, at Americans (especially young, healthy Americans) who need to enroll in the exchanges. "We may never satisfy the law's opponents...some have already convinced themselves that the law has failed, regardless of the evidence," the president said. Obama cited several examples of young Americans benefitting from the law, and was introduced by 26-year-old Monica. Monica, who has Chron's disease, told reporters that she was able to access insurance after college through her parent's plan thanks to the Affordable Care Act.
At the event, Obama was joined by other individuals who have "personally benefited from the healthcare law," according to a statement from a White House source just before the speech LA Times.