President Barack Obama speaks at Taylor Stratton Elementary School, in Nashville, Tenn, July 1, 2015, about the Affordable Care Act. The president said he wants to refocus on improving health care quality, expanding access and rooting out waste now that the Supreme Court has upheld a key element of his health care law. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
President Barack Obama called on Republicans Wednesday to find a bipartisan way to fix problems in the nation鈥檚 health care system rather than continue to fight over the health law.
鈥淧art of what I鈥檓 hoping is with the now behind us what we can do is 鈥 focus on how we can make it even better because it鈥檚 not as if we鈥檝e solved all the problems in our health care system,鈥 Obama said in remarks at an elementary school in Nashville, Tenn. 鈥淎merica still spends more on health care than any other advanced nation and our outcomes aren鈥檛 particularly better.鈥
In a 6-3 ruling, the high court last week rejected a challenge that would have ended federal premium subsidies in at least 34 states for individuals and families buying insurance through the federal government鈥檚 online marketplace. Such a result would have made coverage unaffordable for millions and created price spirals for those who kept their policies, many experts predicted.
While the president鈥檚 law survived its second Supreme Court test in three years, the decision by no means has ended the legal and political assaults from opponents. Several GOP presidential hopefuls and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, among others, have continued to call for the law鈥檚 repeal.
Tennessee Rep. Diane Black, a Republican, took a swipe at the law and the president鈥檚 visit, suggesting that Obamacare was putting 鈥渢he squeeze鈥 on families in her district. She noted that the state鈥檚 largest insurer, BlueCross BlueShield, is requesting a 鈥渨hooping 鈥 on the health law鈥檚 exchange next year 鈥渄espite the president鈥檚 repeated promise that this law would save Americans an average of $2,500 per family, per year.鈥
In his remarks, the president said a lot of waste remains in the nation鈥檚 health care system and quality 鈥渋sn鈥檛 always where it needs to be,鈥 he said. 鈥淪o my hope is that on a bipartisan basis, in places like Tennessee but all across the country, we can now focus on what have we learned? What鈥檚 working? What鈥檚 not working?鈥
Obama鈥檚 appearance Wednesday was part of a renewed focus on states such as Tennessee that have not expanded Medicaid, the shared federal-state health insurance program for low-income residents. Under the law, states have the option to expand Medicaid eligibility to individuals who earn about $16,000 a year — with the federal government covering much of the cost. But 21 states have not done so because of political opposition to the law.
Federal officials and health law supporters see Tennessee as a state that might move off that list. Gov. Bill Haslam, a Republican, proposed a program called Insure Tennessee that would use the federal Medicaid expansion funding to help provide insurance to 288,000 low-income Tennesseans. The plan was in state Senate committees. Following the court decision, advocates have called for the governor to renew his efforts to pass the plan.
鈥淭here鈥檚 something that can be done but it鈥檚 going to be at the state level,鈥 Obama said to an audience question on the issue, urging lawmakers to find 鈥渁 uniquely Tennessee solution to the problem. 鈥 It is unfortunate that getting this thing done got so political. Washington is kind of a crazy place. But that doesn鈥檛 mean that every place has got to be crazy.鈥
Yet national poll results show the American public remains split over the health law. A released Wednesday found 43 percent supporting the law and 40 percent in opposition, much as it has been for the past several months. (KHN is an editorially independent program of the foundation).
That split, however, does not extend to views about the court decision, however. Six out of 10 people questioned said they approved of the Supreme Court鈥檚 decision to uphold the law鈥檚 subsidies in both state and federally run exchanges, or marketplaces, while about a third disapproved. Even among Republicans and those who dislike the law, about 3 in 10 say they backed the ruling.
The tracking poll was conducted from June 25 through June 29 among 1,202 adults ages 18 and older. The margin of error for questions of the overall public is +/- 3 percentage points.
