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April 5 (UPI) — Former President Barack Obama will return to the White House on Tuesday for the first time since leaving office five years ago and join President Joe Biden in an effort to fix a “glitch” in the Affordable Care Act — which they say will save American families thousands of dollars in healthcare costs.
Obama has largely retired into private life since he left the Oval Office after his second term in January 2017, occasionally taking part in various charitable events. He also campaigned heavily for Biden during his White House bid in 2020.
The 44th president will visit the White House on Tuesday for an event in the afternoon on fixing the “family glitch” in the ACA — which officials say is the most significant administrative action to improve the landmark healthcare law since it was enacted in 2010 under Obama and Biden.
“Thanks to the landmark American Rescue Plan, ACA premiums are at an all-time low, while enrollment is at an all-time high,” the White House said in a statement.
“Four out of five Americans can find quality coverage for under $10 a month, and families are saving an average of $2,400 on their annual premiums — $200 in savings every month back to families.”
Officials added that 6 million Americans have newly acquired ACA coverage this year and a record 14.5 million signed up for coverage in 2022.
The “family glitch” is a regulation in the ACA that says a person can qualify for a tax credit and buy medical coverage in ACA exchanges if their employer does not offer “affordable” health insurance. The rule, however, extends only to the individual — and not family members.
President Barack Obama speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on November 6, 2015, as then-Vice President Joe Biden looks on. The two will be in the White House together on Tuesday for the first time since they left office in 2017. File Photo by Michael Reynolds/Pool
“For family members of an employee offered health coverage through an employer, the cost of that family coverage can sometimes be very expensive and make health insurance out of reach,” the White House said.
“The ‘family glitch’ affects about 5 million people and has made it impossible for many families to use the premium tax credit to purchase an affordable, high-quality Marketplace plan.”
Obama and Biden are scheduled to speak from the Rose Garden of the White House at 1:30 p.m. EDT Tuesday.
Officials said Biden will also sign a new executive order Tuesday directing federal agencies to do everything possible to expand affordable health coverage, which is basically a repeat of an order he issued upon taking office last year.
The White House said that actions taken since 2020 have lowered premiums and out-of-pocket costs, made it easier for Americans to sign up for coverage and expanded access to Medicaid. Many of the ACA-related measures under Biden’s administration were funded by the American Rescue Plan, a large aid package passed in early 2021 that was part of Biden’s COVID-19 response.
Joining Biden and Obama at Tuesday’s event will be Vice President Kamala Harris, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and other members of Biden’s Cabinet. The White House said that Biden will also announce other actions designed to lower costs for families.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki, who served in various communications roles under Obama, said that Biden and the former president will also have lunch during the visit — which will be the first time the two are at the White House together since they left in 2017.
While running for president in 2020 when other Democratic candidates like Bernie Sanders were promoting entirely new healthcare plans, Biden said that, instead, he planned to upgrade and enhance the ACA, known colloquially as “Obamacare.”
“We should be building from what we have,” he said in mid-2019. “We should not be starting from scratch. There is no time to wait.”
Since it was passed more than a decade ago, the healthcare law has seen a number of revisions and numerous Republican-led efforts to repeal it. Former President Donald Trump succeeded in getting the individual mandate repealed, which required uncovered Americans to buy coverage through ACA exchanges — a move to ensure that enough people would participate in the system so that the law would work properly.
While Trump led efforts to disband the ACA entirely, he promised but never introduced a healthcare proposal to replace it. One effort, the American Health Care Act, was heavily criticized and was ultimately withdrawn on Capitol Hill because there weren’t enough votes to pass it.
Last June, the Supreme Court voted 7-2 to dismiss a claim by 18 Republican-led states that the ACA is unconstitutional. Biden called the decision a “victory for every American.”
