President Barack Obama Thursday offered a fix to those Americans who are upset about losing their health insurance. The President says insurance companies can keep offering consumers plans for one more year that would otherwise be canceled.
At a Washington news conference heard live on WBFO, Obama noted the enrollment numbers under the Affordable Care Art are lagging. He admitted the government "fumbled the roll-out."
But signing up in New York State has been much smoother. Vice president of state and federal relations at HealthNow New York, Don Ingalls, tells WBFO News about 500 people have signed up with the company's coverage under the new law.
"The state announced a couple of days ago that 48,000 members have signed up through the (state's) exchange," Ingalls said. "About half of those were people eligible for Medicaid but hadn't signed up before."
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Western New York sent out cancelation notices to about six percent of its subscribers under the new law.
Congressman Chris Collins, R-Clarence, released a statement to WBFO News Thursday, arguing this latest adjustment to the health law by the President shows how "unmanageable" it is.
"After being intentionally misled by the White House in an attempt to sell ObamaCare, 137,000 people in Western New York alone recently learned their insurance policy would be canceled under the healthcare law," Collins said. "Now under immense political pressure from his own party, the President is making yet another unilateral decision to change a key provision of his healthcare law. "