President Obama offered a ringing defense of his signature health-care law Thursday amid what he called increasingly “irresponsible” Republican tactics to undermine it, ruling out changes as long as he is in office.
Traveling to Prince George’s Community College just outside the Capital Beltway, Obama made a moral argument, as well as an economic one, for legislation that will help define his domestic record for history. He said health insurance is now a “right” in the United States, not a benefit available only to those who can afford it.
“In the wealthiest nation on Earth, no one should go broke just because they get sick,” Obama told a friendly audience at the college in Largo. “In the United States, health care is not a privilege for the fortunate few, it is a right.”
Obama’s speech reviewed the history of legislation he signed more than three years ago, and offered a preview of the benefits to come when millions of people who previously could not afford health insurance begin buying plans offered within a federal exchange.
Enrollment, which he compared to “buying a TV on Amazon,” begins online next week.
Obama also delivered another warning to congressional Republicans that he will not accept delays to the program’s taxes, mandates and benefits, which GOP House members are seeking to make a condition of raising the debt ceiling next month. He said Republicans “have just spun themselves up over this issue.”
“The closer we’ve gotten to this date, the more irresponsible people opposed to this law have become,” Obama said, referring to the Oct. 1 start of enrollment.
Obama said he would not negotiate delays or other changes to the law as part of budget talks or the debt ceiling process, saying “the Affordable Care Act is here to stay.”
“No Congress before this one has ever, ever in history been irresponsible enough to threaten default,” Obama said, calling the tactic an effort to “blackmail a president for concessions.” “I will not negotiate on anything when it comes to the full faith and credit of the United States of America.”
Obama spoke without a suit jacket, his sleeves rolled up. And much of the talk featured Obama explaining in the detail of a consumer guide how to enroll in the new plans, which are prohibited from excluding those with pre-existing health conditions.
“It’s like booking a hotel or plane ticket,” he said of the plans, which take effect Jan. 1.
He implored Marylanders to enroll for coverage after the program takes effect next week.
“Tell your friends, tell your classmates,” Obama said at the end of his nearly hour-long speech. “We need you to spread the word. Go to the Web site. See what the questions are. See what the choices are. Make up your own mind.”
Obama made the case that the increased competition created by the new marketplace will drive down premiums for many others, part of his larger argument that a fully implemented health-care law will greatly benefit the U.S. economy.
“What is it that these Republicans are just so mad about?” he asked.
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