WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama on Thursday touted the rebates some Americans will get under the Affordable Care Act as a skeptical public has yet to be persuaded about the law's benefits, reprising his role as top campaigner for his signature health-care law.
Speaking from the White House, Mr. Obama said people across the country have gotten rebates from their health-insurance companies that they can use to pay other bills and support their families.
President Barack Obama delivers remarks on the Affordable Care Act during an event in the East Room of the White House.
But, reflecting broader concerns about public support for the law, Mr. Obama said: "I bet if you took a poll, most folks wouldn't know when that check comes in that this was because of Obamacare that they got this extra money in their pockets."
The speech is the president's latest attempt to persuade the public of the law's benefits and to defend his legacy. The administration is trying to get millions of uninsured Americans to enroll in health-insurance plans that will be offered beginning in October, worrying that if they don't premiums could rise over time.
Polls show the public is skeptical and unclear about what the law does. An April Wall Street Journal/NBC News survey showed 45% of respondents called the law a "bad idea," while 36% called it a "good idea." A separate poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that four out of 10 Americans weren't sure whether the Affordable Care Act was the law of the land.
Mr. Obama said there will be "glitches" in implementing the law. "This is a big country, and the health care industry is massive and there are tons of providers," Mr. Obama said.
Republicans have hammered the law since it was passed in 2010 and have voted dozens of times to either repeal it or change it—most recently Wednesday in the House of Representatives.
The law is still a topic in millions of dollars of ads by supporters and opponents hoping they can use it to drive votes. A conservative group, Americans for Prosperity, is currently airing television ads in Virginia and Ohio showing a pregnant mom questioning whether her premiums will rise or her family will be able to keep the same doctor once the law fully takes effect.
Enroll America, an advocacy group that supports the law, is organizing advertising and educational events in several states to tell people about the law's benefits.
Mr. Obama questioned why Republicans keep working to dismantle the law, saying Congress has a lot of other problems it needs to solve such as the immigration system and the nation's fiscal problems. "And yet, instead, we're refighting these old battles," Mr. Obama said. The president referenced a report from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that shows that 8.5 million Americans received rebates in 2012 as a result of the law, averaging about $100 per family. These rebates are triggered when existing customers' insurance companies don't spend a certain amount of premiums on health care or efforts to improve health quality. Large group plans are required to spend at least 85% of premiums on these areas while small group or individual plans need to spend at least 80%.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) said the rebates pale in comparison to how much more he says families will have to pay when their insurance premiums rise. "If you're a family in Covington facing a $2,100 premium increase under Obamacare, then, really, what would you rather have: a check for $100 or so, or a way to avoid the $2,100 premium increase in the first place?" Mr. McConnell said from the Senate floor.
The president's speech comes shortly after the administration said it would delay enforcing a provision of the new health-care law that requires large employers to provide coverage for workers or pay a penalty in 2014. Republicans have been using that delay to press the administration to delay other parts of the law.
—Colleen McCain Nelson contributed to this article.
Write to Jared A. Favole at jared.favole@dowjones.com
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