Obama’s Defense of Obamacare and Its Failed Website

Chris Jacobs /

KEVIN DIETSCH/UPI/Newscom

KEVIN DIETSCH/UPI/Newscom

Here’s what the president did—and didn’t—say about Obamacare in his talk today.

What the President actually said doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. He claimed that “the product [i.e., Obamacare] is good,” and that the law was “a good deal.” But the law is NOT a good deal for the millions of Americans in the process of losing their current health insurance—who don’t have a website to go to where they can browse alternative options. And even if they did, it still wouldn’t be a good deal for them; many will have to pay more in premiums due to the law’s new benefit requirements.

Just as important is what the President didn’t say. He provided no explanation for the myriad failures that practically shut down healthcare.gov for weeks, nor did he say when those failures would be fixed. He also didn’t explain why a federal government that had three and a half years to build exchanges couldn’t get the job done right the first time. For the self-proclaimed “most transparent and accountable Administration,” it’s a stunning lack of candor with the American people—the equivalent of “whistling past the graveyard.”

The website failures, the higher premiums, and the millions losing their current plan demonstrate that it’s not just the exchanges that are unworkable—it’s the entire law. The American people deserve better.