Barack Obama Reminds Everyone Of The Biggest Lesson He Learned As President

WASHINGTON — Former President Barack Obama returned to the White House on Tuesday, in order to celebrate the Affordable Care Act’s accomplishments and to promote President Joe Biden’s efforts to bolster the 2010 health care law.

Along the way, Obama also reminded Americans of a lesson he learned while president: Governing is a lot harder than it looks.

Obama’s visit marked his first visit to the White House since leaving office in January 2017 ― a time when the very existence of the Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare,” was in doubt. Donald Trump had just become president, Republicans had taken full control of Congress and repeal was literally the first item on their agenda.

That effort failed and, today, the Affordable Care Act is more politically secure than ever, with polls consistently showing majority support and Republicans mostly avoiding talk of repeal. Meanwhile, the number of uninsured Americans is at a historic low, an accomplishment Obama was quick to highlight in his remarks.

“Nothing made me prouder than providing better health care and more protections to millions of people across this country,” Obama said.

“Even today, some patients still pay too much for their prescriptions,” Obama said. “Some poor Americans are still falling through the cracks … some working families are still having trouble paying for their coverage.”

But Obama attributed those failings to compromises necessary to push the Affordable Care Act through Congress. He described the health care law as a “starter home,” as he has many times before, and said the challenge now is to keep improving it.

The Biden administration, working with Democratic leaders in Congress, has been trying to do just that ― in part by passing legislation that would make permanent some temporary increases in the financial assistance available to people buying private insurance through HealthCare.gov and other online exchanges.

That extra assistance was part of the federal COVID-19 relief effort, enacted through the American Rescue Plan, and runs out at the end of this year.

It’s made a big difference, reducing premiums for several million people by hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars a year. The Democratic legislation to extend that assistance ― and lock in the lower premiums ― is hung up in Congress right now, as Democratic leaders try to negotiate with the lone Democratic holdout in the Senate, Joe Manchin of West Virginia.

Biden, who spoke at the event after Obama, urged Congress to pass the proposal, while reminding his audience of the many Republican efforts at repeal. “Instead of destroying the Affordable Care Act, let’s keep building on it.”

It’s an open question whether Biden and his allies can get Manchin to sign on to a compromise. But, Obama noted, Biden is also using executive authority to do what he can to improve the law on his own, without waiting for Congress.

Obama mentioned in particular a policy initiative that the administration rolled out on Tuesday morning: a newly proposed regulation that would modify the Affordable Care Act’s rules for who can get subsidized insurance through the exchanges.

This change to what policy experts call the “family glitch” could help 200,000 Americans get insurance, while helping another 1 million to get coverage with lower premiums, according to Biden administration estimates.

The White House ceremony had been planned for the Rose Garden, but had to be moved indoors because of lingering rain showers. The result was an East Room packed with current and former Democratic members of Congress as well as officials from both the Biden and Obama administrations.

Face masks were rare as invited guests mingled while a strings version of “As Time Goes By” was piped in through the sound system.

The crowd of a few hundred Democrats and health care activists showed their adoration for the 44th president remains undiminished, as he received a hero’s welcome as walked in accompanied by Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. The goodwill appeared to rub off on his former vice president, as well, who received an extended ovation from his audience as he came to the lectern.

During the scrum after the formal remarks, Obama got a question about how Democrats should prepare for the midterm elections, given polling suggesting they could suffer major losses.

“We’ve got a story to tell, just got to tell it,” he said in response.

The event had some lighter moments, too, as Obama took note of some changes to the White House since the Bidens moved in.

“Secret Service agents have to wear aviator glasses now, the Navy Mess has been replaced by Baskin Robbins,” Obama said, chuckling. “There’s a cat running around ― Bo and Sunny would have been very unhappy.”

Biden, in his remarks, reminisced about his partnership with Obama ― and the work the president put into passing the law, even when its enactment seemed so improbable.

“The Affordable Care Act has been called a lot of things,” Biden said. “But ‘Obamacare’ is the most fitting.”

Biden also made a joke about one of his most famous moments as vice president ― at the Affordable Care Act signing ceremony, when a microphone caught him whispering to Obama that the law was a “big fucking deal.”

“Now I’m going to sign the executive order,” Biden said, referring to the new executive actions to bolster the health care law. “And Barack, let me remind you, it’s a hot mic.”