Week ahead: All ObamaCare, all the time

ObamaCare will dominate the agenda this week as the House returns from its recess and the administration prepares to release initial enrollment data from marketplaces around the country.

The White House is seeking to battle back from a series of negative news cycles about the rollout. President Obama apologized to Americans losing their coverage on Thursday night and hinted that he’s weighing new actions to provide relief for people receiving cancellation letters from insurance companies.

{mosads}It remains to be seen whether the new approach will help the administration as Republicans batter the rollout. Nervous Democrats appear increasingly willing to back GOP attempts to change the law, given officials’ inability to quickly fix problems and the looming threat of the 2014 elections.

The House will vote as early as Wednesday on a bill allowing consumers to keep healthcare plans that do not meet new coverage standards under ObamaCare. The legislation is an answer to the firestorm over Obama’s promise that the healthcare law would allow Americans to keep their policies if they like them.

At another time, the White House would be able to dismiss the vote as a GOP stunt. But some Democrats are rallying behind the “keep your plan” idea, with a similar Senate measure from Mary Landrieu (D-La.) drawing support from Kay Hagan (D-N.C.) and Mark Pryor (D-Ark.). All three are up for reelection in 2014.

The House vote is just one event that will pose a challenge for the White House, as the lower chamber is putting ObamaCare on trial in four separate hearings.

One hearing, held by Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) on Wednesday, will include testimony from government officials involved in the construction of HealthCare.gov. Issa has threatened to subpoena one invited guest, U.S. chief technology officer Todd Park, who declined to come.

On Wednesday, the House Homeland Security Committee will look at the security of users’ personal information on HealthCare.gov.

The next day, the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Health will examine the wider implementation effort.

Finally on Thursday, the House Education and the Workforce Committee will discuss ObamaCare’s effect on schools, colleges and universities.

A fifth healthcare-related hearing is slated to take place Thursday when a subcommittee of the House Small Business panel looks at self-insurance.