http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=A23B3032-10C6-45F9-8C39-DA87CD696F04 Aides: White House to announce Affordable Care Act fix
By: Burgess Everett
November 14, 2013 10:03 AM EST
The White House will announce a solution to a wave of health insurance cancellation notices at noon Thursday, according to senior Democratic aides.
President Barack Obama will speak at 11:35 a.m. on Obamacare. Shortly after making the announcement, White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough will brief an increasingly restless Senate Democratic caucus on the fix to Obamacare.
The administrative solution to Obamacare is an attempt to head off a push from moderate and red state Democrats who are threatening to attempt an end-around of the administration on health care. Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and Mark Udall (D-Colo.) have introduced bills that would allow people to keep their health plans if insurers cancel them — an attempt to codify a longheld vow of Obama’s that “if you like your health care, you can keep it” under Obamacare.
The administration is also seeking to prevent a swell of Democratic defections in the House on Friday, when the chamber will vote on a bill from Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) that would grandfather in health insurance policies.
Though there will be relief among some corners of Congress that the White House has struck a solution, even the rollout of a fix to Obamacare has been bumpy. Senate leaders weren’t even briefed on what the fix will entail ahead of time, sources said.
“Yes. One is coming,” said one exasperated aide. “You’d think they’d want to tell us first.”