Yes, he did. Unfortunately, he omitted the time caveat, believing that corporate media would do their jobs and explain what he meant to the American people (big mistake by this president to believe we still have a 4th estate) regarding the 95% he was actually referring to.

He thought he'd get the same preferential treatment Republicans always do, based on how the big media outlets have whitewashed or completely glossed over outright Republican lies, over and over and over and over and over without shame.

Corporate Media - that has replaced a defunct fourth estate - would never have given this president deference. They only reserve that for Republicans; accepting whatever Republican propaganda is fed to them as truth and even defending it when they're caught red-handed doing it.

ProfitCare is fuming that the PPACA is the law of the land. Did this president actually believe they'd do anything to help promote the PPACA even if they'll benefit from it? Sometimes I wonder if President Obama is really this naive.

the corporate media BIAS and LIES which need to be corrected.

It would be a courageous and ballsy move by Democrats unifying with this president, to come out and stand united in telling the American people that WE NO LONGER HAVE A TRUTHFUL FOURTH ESTATE. Short of that, Democrats will continue to suffer under a constant deluge of Republican propaganda as corporations protect their lackeys against the American people.

would be grandfathered. Yup, he unfortunately left out the timing caveat concerning those who bought plans AFTER the law was signed in 2010.

He should've known better than to rely on even a modicum of factual reporting by corporate media stenographers. He's a Democrat, for chrissakes!

And as a Democrat, he doesn't get the luxury of making a single mistake that can be taken out of context by these stenographers in order to favor Republicans during any press conference/briefing, because the corporate lackeys posing as journalists will crucify him over the minutest, completely unimportant detail that has zero bearing on the subject he's trying to convey. Their only job is to promote Republicans in any and every election - unless, of course, Republicans act so egregious that they just might harm the "Republican brand" {translate: Big Business' reputation and bottom line}. Then they'll get the green light to vilify those Republicans, too.

to report, well in advance, what the real situation was with those AFTER-SIGNING-OF-THE-LAW policies which he should have done himself. I agree they should have foreseen this better and included the timing caveat in the stump speech. I don't hold Obama as having no fault in this, and he and his team should have been more assertive in their response to it. You are right in that the corrupt corporate media exists to help the rich and the TeaPublicans, all the more reason to have been more careful.

BUT, what's done is done, and we can not forgive the corporate media and TeaPublican LIARS just because Obama made a communication "error". Now we need to go forward and reverse the narrative especially at the grassroots. Some folks are starting to write some great opinion pieces in my local media straightening out the record.

Frankly, I don't know how he could "explain" that without people getting suspicious "what else don't I know about this bill?" I think the RW would have had a field day with that "caveat." They would have pounced on it and played it up as being the BIG problem and an unbearable burden on the AMerican people.

Still, it IS better to tell the truth, as much as it might have been a not very pleasant thing for people to hear at the time. If he and his inner circle had planned on including a caveat, they could have also worked out a strategy for framing it, so people could understand it and not get an unwelcome surprise later.

I know. This is shudda, cudda, wudda...but it is a lesson learned, IMO...

past 3 years. They passed on the ACA. I have needed services (no state ID) both times. Every doctor takes Medicare...I didn't have to go down a list like I did in the Blue State. And if you don't have anything badly wrong, you'll see a Physician's Assistant or a Nurse Practitioner. They are caring, take time with you, even sit and chat a spell. And, they often "forget" to bill for the difference. The hospitals, OTOH, do bill you for the difference. For catastrophic events, would they bankrupt a family or turn them away? I doubt it. It is a very different reality here.

Also, they seem to have the best system I have seen for free or reasonable copay health, dental, mental ... with no deductible required. I had a dental emergency two days ago, walked in, within less than two hours and $50, walked out. For regular dental visits, there is a $70 sign-up fee and a $30 co pay for any procedure they do...does not cover complicated bridges or strictly cosmetic work. All mental health visits are a $30 co pay. All medical is $20. No deductibles.

Perhaps there are reasons they did not go with ACA? I'm out in what is considered rural ... this amazing full service health center is surrounded by cow pastures ... check on the link...I was amazed.

http://www.chciokc.org/?page_id=1277

I am a strong proponent of ACA, warts and all. I am sure it will help millions and can't wait for either Single Payer or National Health Insurance.

in the system. It is helping a LOT of people who didn't have insurance before or had really crappy insurance. You are lucky to have a provider that is very accommodating. That happens in a number of rural areas with fewer patients. So this has to do with the provider, not how the care is financed. It, again, has NOTHING to do with the ACA. Don't look for Oklahoma leaders to support Medicare For All.

do with Medicare, the first time, was that I didn't have to call 10 doctors to find out which ones were "taking new (Medicare) patients". Prove they are discriminating...but they are. That's the Big Blue State.

And no, it's not just Medicare. It's also income level. And I understand clearly the differences and a whole lot about ACA. Back off the judgments and consider there might be a couple of things that don't fit the Black-White scenario. If a long-term Oklahoma resident wants to add to my personal education, I'll gladly learn.

It's the same in Oklahoma City. The network of clinics are all over Oklahoma. I've been domiciled here twice of late. I won't pretend to lecture Maine residents. It's a poor state. Maybe they are not so backward and politically, uh, unlearned as to be rejecting ACA...maybe it's not the best deal for their residents. What a concept.

(BTW...those deductibles are impossible for poor people to pay....or to borrow.)

level? If that is so, then you did not say that in your first post, nor did you mention these were in the urban areas too. You said you were in a rural area and that you were on Medicare. Your post appeared to be about a provider system there that accepts ALL Medicare users and runs pretty smoothly as a provider network. Fine. I was just trying to say that there are other places which for whatever reason may not quite have that ability, especially bigger much more urban areas.

So then somehow Oklahoma is offering this user-friendly provider network, but remember, obviously, these, as you say, are clinics that sound like they can provide care for minor medical issues and events, regular checkups, and follow-up for chronic illnesses. But what about xrays, ultrasound, mamograms, MRI's, the vast array of other tests, childbirthing, surgery, trauma emergency services, etc. which usually must occur in hospitals? Great they have this for mainly the lower level stuff. GREAT. But people still need health insurance for the bigger stuff. That's obviously where the ACA comes in.

How does Oklahoma pay for these low-cost clinics? It may be they established a special fund with a special financing mechanism somehow. Someone is paying. It sounds very good though as people can get low level care and preventive care, etc, and it is geared to low income folks, so it sounds. So good. I think such a system of clinics is a great idea if it can be financed. My sister works in a clinic in NH. My family's primary care is all done out of a local network of clinics attached to a large hospital in my area. We also occasionally use the walk-in clinic at the local WalMart if it is a weekend. But it sounds like yours is a state-subsidized system which is interesting.

on the website and this particular center is quite full service, seems. X-Ray, mammograms, 24 hour emergency MD, strong women's health department, etc. And again, it offers dental, medical and psychological counseling services. Also, easily more than half of the staff was non-white...another surprise for a Southern state. The facility is named after a black woman...Mary Mahoney. I have not read up on her story. They also have a little bus for transporting patients to and from. It was waiting for passengers when I got there. http://www.chciokc.org/

I don't know how they pay for them, but a friend was a retired mental health counselor for one of the rural areas and she did home visits. She specialized in pediatric/adolescent counseling and I couldn't believe she drove to client's homes. It was free to the client. She made a good income, as well. I asked her why, and she said that they wouldn't or couldn't come to county offices. Different world here. I was in two different parts of the state, as well...one Southern, now more Northern.

Everything here leads to Oklahoma City...a bit up North to Tulsa. The medical facilities and schools there are second to none. Massive. OU Medical Center I had reason to go for some testing. Amazing the CVs of the medical personnel they had there. There is an School of Medicine that is comprehensive. An entire city block of 3-4 story buildings just for organ transplants. Another block for cancer.

My friend above had a 12-year old nephew with spinal cancer. I got daily updates from her as we visited...as it was very serious. Of course he went to OKC. What I really found hard to believe, however, was that not only was it at no cost...the husband was a landscaper and the mom didn't work...rural, again, but for a few weeks, the parents were put up in a hotel room so they could be with him 24/7. It was an hour and a half drive one way so there would have been few visits. Brothers and sisters were able to come...haven't talked to her for a while, but it's hard to believe but I was there. I didn't ask any financial questions of course, but they were poor.

Down there the system was not as centralized as it is up here, but there was a full hospital, clinics, surgery, within 15 miles.

How they do it? I have no idea. But as far as I can see, they have a comprehensive health care system for the poor and needy. I'm guessing there is a lot of federal money, certainly Indian Money, but that can not be spent for non-Indians and they have their own clinics. I hear theirs is even better.

So, again, I'm all for the ACA. But poor people do not have deductibles. Here, some need rides to even get there. I've lived in California for 50 years, so I'm no expert on any other state, but I grew up poor and it made me pretty proud of a state that gets dissed for being Southern and poor. Seems they take care of their own.

Thanks for asking.

NEVER admit you made a mistake, EVER, no matter how bad it was.

Even though he did a noble thing by taking much of the blame (in many cases for things that weren't his fault) I don't think it was a shrewd political move.

Fortunately I'm glad this is playing out in late 2013 and not in the middle of 2014. The Rs will try and drag it out as long as possible, as their leaked memo indicates, but the public grows tired of what are basically the same news stories over and over. Just think back to early October and what the news 24/7 was all about.

On the plus side, has anyone else been seeing a LOT of the commercials from HHS about registering for healthcare?

because of ACA, only a few million people are losing
their health insurance policy....-->this year<--....but
.
lots more millions are affected next year
when group plans are zapped

You know just as well as I do that those are mostly SHITTY plans that most people usually dump anyway after a year or two, or are dumped anyway by the insurance companies routinely. Real reform means getting rid of total shit plans and mandating some standards. Most of these folks will get Medicaid or better insurance, subsidized, on the exchanges.

The insurance companies knew those plans were SHIT and didn't meet standards, sold them anyway, and then they blamed the ACA. Fuck them ! I say set the record straight and put some onerous right in THEIR laps where it belongs.

Most group plans are solid insurance plans that meet standards, and they are re-tooling any out of compliance right now. This is modeled on RomneyCare which took TIME to roll out and ramp up completely. Did you see doom and gloom in that endgame? No. But it did take some time. It took three years to fully ramp up. And now almost everyone has insurance, costs are down, and people are happy with it.

Like any major law, it takes some TIME. Give it a chance. Tweaks will have to occur along the way. But we MUST convert. We must take the hard steps that eventually get EVERYONE into the system AND improve the QUALITY of health insurance.

I wish we could have Medicare For All. It will NEVER pass. So this is the best we can do. Let's make it work and not feed right wing and corporate media LIES and ONE SIDED BULLSHIT.