Hoyer: Dems knew some patients would lose plans under ObamaCare

Democrats knew all along that some patients would lose their health insurance plans under the new law, Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) acknowledged on Tuesday.

Although President Obama had vowed repeatedly that, under his signature healthcare initiative, those who like their plans could keep them, millions of patients are reportedly in individual plans that don’t meet the law’s minimum coverage criteria, forcing them to buy better insurance.

{mosads}Hoyer, the House minority whip, said Democrats were aware that such a shift was coming. He defended the change by arguing that those patients would ultimately benefit by getting better insurance, many of them at a lower price than they currently pay.

“We knew that there would be some policies that would not qualify, and therefore people would be required to get more extensive coverage,” Hoyer said during a press briefing in the Capitol.

The promise that patients could retain their current coverage was designed, Hoyer said, “to allay the fears of somebody that had insurance — group insurance, for the most part— that do meet the criteria.”

“We’ve used that [message] in trying to allay the fears of people who have group policies or significant coverage … through their employer, which was the overwhelming number,” he said. “I think we could have caveated [to say], ‘Unless you have coverage that’s insufficient to accomplish the objectives of giving you adequate, quality healthcare.'”

Pressed as to whether Obama and the Democrats misled the public on the topic, Hoyer conceded the party’s message could have been better articulated.

“I don’t think the message was wrong. I think the message was accurate. But it was not precise enough,” he said. “Clearly, it should have been caveated with, ‘Assuming you have a policy that, in fact, does do what the bill is designed to do.’ ” 

Under the 2010 healthcare law, insurance plans have to cover a basic scope of services to be considered viable under the individual mandate. 

On Monday, NBC News reported that at least half of the 14 million Americans who have individual coverage are in plans that don’t meet those minimum standards.

Republicans have pounced on the news, arguing that the broken promise is just another reason to scrap the entire law.

“I’ve heard from hundreds of my constituents who are seeing their premiums rise. They’re seeing their policies being canceled,” Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said Tuesday. “Many, again, are losing their plans.”

Hoyer, for his part, defended the shift, arguing the better coverage — which includes preventative care requirements — would pay dividends down the line for both patients and taxpayers alike.

“The principle that the Heritage Foundation articulated was that everybody needed to take personal responsibility so they did not become the responsibility of the public to assist them in their health insurance,” he said. “So what we said in the legislation, ‘Look, you’ve got to have some minimal converge so you meet that responsibility.'”

But he also acknowledged that the developments have put the Democrats in a difficult spot politically.

“I’m dying to see the headlines,” he said as he left the press conference.