Obama touts ObamaCare as a success on law’s anniversary

President Obama is using the sixth anniversary of ObamaCare to tout the law as a success. 

“After nearly a century of effort, and thanks to the thousands of people who fought so hard to pass and implement this law, we have at last succeeded in leaving our kids and grandkids a country where pre-existing conditions exclusions are a thing of the past, affordable options are within our reach, and health care is no longer a privilege, but a right,” Obama said in a statement Tuesday, one day ahead of the anniversary of the law’s signing. 

{mosads}Obama pointed in particular to the 20 million people that government economists estimate have gained healthcare coverage because of ObamaCare.

He also noted some of the lesser-known elements of the law the administration has been touting this week. 

Obama pointed to an announcement from HHS that Medicare saved about $470 billion between 2009 and 2014, because of a slowdown in the growth of healthcare spending. 

Much of that slowdown was due to other factors like the recession, but ObamaCare payment reforms seeking to tie Medicare payments to healthy outcomes for patients instead of simply the number of medical procedures provided also played a role. 

Republicans have countered that deductibles and out-of-pocket costs remain high in many ObamaCare plans. 

The president said that “we still have more work to do,” also referring to his administration’s efforts to fight the rising cost of prescription drugs. 

“We’ll keep working to make insurance and prescription drugs more affordable,” Obama said.

“But the facts are clear,” he added. “America is on a stronger footing because of the Affordable Care Act.”