Talking Points

Obama Touts Early Health-Care Benefits

Insurers improving coverage ahead of schedule.

The health-care law passed this year won't take full effect for several years, but President Obama is touting early progress in holding insurance companies accountable as evidence of its impact. “I’ve said before that implementing health insurance reform won’t happen overnight, and it will require some tweaks and changes along the way,” Obama said in his weekend radio address, “But already, we are seeing how reform is improving the lives of millions of Americans.” Since the bill passed, Anthem Blue Cross backed off a major premium increase under White House pressure. And insurance companies voluntarily agreed not to drop sick people in certain cases. “When we found out that an insurance company was systematically dropping the coverage of women diagnosed with breast cancer, my administration called on them to end this practice immediately," Obama said. "Two weeks ago, the entire insurance industry announced that it would comply with the new law early and stop the perverse practice of dropping people’s coverage when they get sick."