Cummings: Dems should campaign on ‘moral issues’ on ObamaCare

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) on Sunday said that despite the unpopularity of ObamaCare, Democrats should “go out there and argue the moral issues” on the president’s signature healthcare reform legislation.

“I’ve never ran away from ObamaCare, because I see in my district — and I have a very diverse district — people who have been helped by it,” Cummings said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

{mosads}“And the idea that we now have gotten rid of preexisting conditions, which was affecting millions upon millions of Americans, stopping them from getting insurance. I think that’s very significant. We have got to look at the good things. And we’ve got to go out there and make it clear that it’s something good for America,” he added.

Cummings also said that Kathleen Sebelius “accomplished a lot” as Health and Human Services secretary. Sebelius announced her resignation on Friday.

“Keep in mind, she was with the president from the very beginning of doing what no president has been able to do in over 50 years,” Cummings said. “That is bring healthcare to people who did not have it. She’s accomplished what she had to accomplish. She set a goal of 7 million signed up for private healthcare. She got 7.5 million. Three million others expanded Medicaid. She’s accomplished a lot with regards to healthcare disparities, women’s health. And she has brought us, Bob, closer to an HIV/AIDS free generation than anyone.

“And now she hands the baton off to a wonderful public servant, Sylvia Burwell of OMB,” he added.

Cummings also said that he thinks that problems with ObamaCare’s rollout “have been smoothed out.”

“When it comes to the website, the website was a significant problem. That goes back to Sebelius. She was able to, even with all of that and with opposition from the Republicans, she was still able to achieve the 7.5 million goal. … And I think as far as the website situation, it will be a footnote in history.”