Axelrod: Obama should compromise on ObamaCare workweek

Former Obama White House senior adviser David Axelrod said Tuesday that the White House should compromise with Republicans on a change to ObamaCare to alter the definition of full-time workers under the law. 

“I think the key is to say, ‘Are there areas in which they can work?'” Axelrod said on MSNBC. “Is it, you know, the number of hours from 30 to 40 in terms of how people are categorized for the program and what businesses have to do, whether a 30-hour week is enough to qualify for the program or whether you need more hours, those are things they ought to be able to compromise on.”

Republicans say the definition of full-time employment at 30 hours, triggering employer requirements to provide health insurance, harmfully incentivizes reductions in working hours. Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) listed the change as a priority for the new Congress in a Wall Street Journal op-ed last week. 

Axelrod listed a specific example of a change to President Obama’s signature law, while Obama last week said he is open to changes but did not delve into examples. 

“So if, in fact, one of the items on Mitch McConnell’s agenda and John Boehner’s agenda is to make responsible changes to the Affordable Care Act to make it work better, I’m going to be very open and receptive to hearing those ideas,” Obama said at a press conference last week. 

He said, though, that “there are some lines I’m going to draw.”

Axelrod, similarly, said “on the core of it, they’re not going to compromise…because all over this country there are people who are benefitting from this program.”