Millions of Americans are receiving “Dear John” letters from their insurance providers, incensing Obamacare critics and mollifying those who believe the policy changes are for the best. With public opinion of the Affordable Care Act in tatters, however, the Obama administration is turning to carriers to help defuse some of the outrage.
President Obama’s chief of staff met with CEOs of some of the largest US health insurers to ask them to help explain the widespread health insurance cancellations to policyholders, it emerged last week.
Denis McDonough reportedly updated CEOs on the ongoing attempts to improve HealthCare.gov, and then urged them to “ramp up communication and education efforts” to Americans who have seen their policies cancelled or altered as a result of the ACA.
McDonough also asked CEOs whether they felt the exchange system is improving.
The move comes at the heels of the president’s assertion that the cancellations were a result of “bad apple insurers” that didn’t offer “real financial protection in the event of a serious illness or an accident.”
“Remember, before the Affordable Care Act, these bad apple insurers had free rein every single year to limit the care that you received or used minor pre-existing conditions to jack up your premiums or bill you into bankruptcy,” Obama said in a Boston speech last week.
Since then, the White House has maintained that those losing their coverage are better off with the option of more comprehensive coverage through the ACA exchanges.
