Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act - Obama Presidency Oral History Back Index / Policies Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Transcript Andrew Stern ...form, sort of set the policy around the Affordable Care Act [ACA] and then also helping win i... ...policy around the Affordable Care Act [ ACA ] and then also helping win i... ...with this coalition? How would the ACA — I don't know. I would say this: i... ...it was an incredibly happy day when the ACA passed. I was happy to be in the secon... ...Reinvestment] Act, healthcare reform [ Affordable Care Act ], cap and trade [legislation], an... ...UBI. But it was a recognition, as was Obamacare , that the labor movement ha... ...wages and—healthcare, yes. After he did Obamacare , I'm sure he was interested in ho... ...form, sort of set the policy around the Affordable Care Act [ACA] and then also helping win i... ...policy around the Affordable Care Act [ ACA ] and then also helping win i... ...with this coalition? How would the ACA — I don't know. I would say this: i... ...it was an incredibly happy day when the ACA passed. I was happy to be in the secon... ...Reinvestment] Act, healthcare reform [ Affordable Care Act ], cap and trade [legislation], an... ...UBI. But it was a recognition, as was Obamacare , that the labor movement ha... ...wages and—healthcare, yes. After he did Obamacare , I'm sure he was interested in ho... Show more... Aneesh Chopra ...to eight or seven. This is before the Affordable Care Act [ACA], obviously. How would we do that... ...is before the Affordable Care Act [ ACA ], obviously. How would we do that... ...very interested in where we were on the Affordable Care Act , but personally sensitive to stay i... ...were in different streams. Before the Affordable Care Act gets signed into law, we already ha... ...to get going, but not waiting for the ACA . We had this other thing to work on... ...expected it to be there. Also, the law, ACA , was going to have a bunch o... ...meaningful-use regulation before the Affordable Care Act actually gave us legal authority to d... ...into the HealthCare.gov and part of the ACA , there was this assumption that, ca... ...which is, now that we've celebrated ACA , now we can learn what's in the bill... ...something called Section 1561 of the ACA , technology standards that woul... ...it [Sarah Kliff, “Steven Brill on Obamacare , How to Write a Book, and the Futur... ...to eight or seven. This is before the Affordable Care Act [ACA], obviously. How would we do that... ...is before the Affordable Care Act [ ACA ], obviously. How would we do that... ...very interested in where we were on the Affordable Care Act , but personally sensitive to stay i... ...were in different streams. Before the Affordable Care Act gets signed into law, we already ha... ...to get going, but not waiting for the ACA . We had this other thing to work on... ...expected it to be there. Also, the law, ACA , was going to have a bunch o... ...meaningful-use regulation before the Affordable Care Act actually gave us legal authority to d... ...into the HealthCare.gov and part of the ACA , there was this assumption that, ca... ...which is, now that we've celebrated ACA , now we can learn what's in the bill... ...something called Section 1561 of the ACA , technology standards that woul... ...it [Sarah Kliff, “Steven Brill on Obamacare , How to Write a Book, and the Futur... Show more... Bob Kocher ...create what is a lot like what is the Affordable Care Act [ACA] in Massachusetts, which was ... ...like what is the Affordable Care Act [ ACA ] in Massachusetts, which was a privat... ...enacted. We've seen that since the Affordable Care Act . Despite a vociferous set of peopl... ...the first two years after he passed the Affordable Care Act . Larry Summers asked me one day, “Hey... ...that, amid and after passing the Affordable Care Act , you had a period of lower—relative t... ...much longer period post-passing of the ACA . The policies appear to have actuall... ...endorsed the pace reduction of the Affordable Care Act prior to him going, but it wa... ...malpractice reform as part of the Affordable Care Act . When we would go speak to docto... ...groups for what is the entirety of the Affordable Care Act , and that, actually, it's a goo... ...Zeke and I managed to get into the ACA basically some R&D [research an... ...agreed with virtually everything in the ACA , it became harder and harder for the... ...the central tenets of what is the Affordable Care Act , and tried to engender popular suppor... ...and was ultimately included in the Affordable Care Act . You and Dr. Emanuel wrote in the Ne... ...relative to what was in what is now the Affordable Care Act . They all cost more than you woul... ...upheld the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act 's individual mandate, but at the sam... ...to address inequality through the Affordable Care Act ? It was a setback because it slowe... ...worked hard to get Section 10332 of the Affordable Care Act added, which is a section that says th... ...sector. That was the idea. But the ACA is where that's inculcated, Sectio... ...We coined some quality metrics in the Affordable Care Act , but you could do your own qualit... ...up for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act , exceeding expectations. Can I jus... Show more... Carolyn Britton ...All of that kind of stuff. So when the Affordable Care Act [ACA] comes in, you already had ... ...So when the Affordable Care Act [ ACA ] comes in, you already had a groun... ...beginning of the Obama years and the Affordable Care Act actually allowed all thes... ...points for everything, I think—the Affordable Care Act , and what I read—as it goes around th... ...should have access, and if the Affordable Care Act is a way to bring down the uninsured... ...out of the taxis, and all the anti- ACA people are around. They're yellin... ...it saved them. The same thing with the ACA with the Medicaid expansion... ...I think some of it is just—the ACA was big, and it took a lot to get done... ...the time. So I think, having done the ACA , it really closed a discussion o... ...he did in health; because I think the ACA was a game-changer. I think we're stil... ...that he made a decision to go for the Affordable Care Act —despite the fact that it'... ...having it step up to the table for the ACA , and then later looking, also, throug... Show more... Courtney Hight ...top priority. They're going to focus on ACA [Affordable Care Act] and not climate... ...They're going to focus on ACA [ Affordable Care Act ] and not climate. We need both... ...it more. They chose to focus on ACA , and they didn't choose to do both. ... Don Verrilli ...of Justice on the defense of the Affordable Care Act . President Obama signed the ACA int... ...Care Act. President Obama signed the ACA into law in March, and it was a... ...Obama administration saying that the Affordable Care Act was a tax. President Obama had, in th... ...it anyway. The concern was that the Affordable Care Act , the individual mandate requiring yo... ...It was, This could really matter. The ACA is going to be a big part of you... ...was going to be a need to defend the Affordable Care Act . But it was typical of Presiden... ...brought up, which are DOMA and the ACA . But let's start with the ACA. Talk t... ...and the ACA. But let's start with the ACA . Talk to me about how you prepared t... ...involved in those, of course. But the ACA was different. We knew this was ... ...[Court], one of the challenges to the ACA . The panel of judges issued ... ...to work. No. I celebrated first. The ACA would come up again and agai... ...attacking the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act in the run-up to the election. Yo... ...organizations that cared about the ACA out there in the public dialogue, bot... ...NFIB and King v. Burwell showed us, the Affordable Care Act —for people on the right, it jus... ...amount in the legal sphere as well. The Affordable Care Act , as a matter of policy, is an endurin... Show more... Elizabeth Fowler ...understanding the work you did on the Affordable Care Act [ACA] and in the Obama administration... ...you did on the Affordable Care Act [ ACA ] and in the Obama administration. I'v... ...sort of preview for working on the ACA , I think. You also worked fo... ...the Hill for the negotiations over the Affordable Care Act ? Yeah, I think absolutely. You can'... ...regulation. The proposal, the Obamacare or the Affordable Care Act, looke... ...The proposal, the Obamacare or the Affordable Care Act , looked more—it was probably to th... ...process of drafting and negotiating the Affordable Care Act , did you try to push back on some o... ...one thing to keep in mind is that the ACA is a step along the way. We're no... ...I mean, I think we're glad that the ACA is there as a safety net, particularl... ...don't think that was possible with the ACA . We were not going to get Republican... ...Silver, Gold, Platinum plans in the Obamacare exchanges, sixty percent, sevent... ...2009, the Senate passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act sixty to thirty-nine. And i... ...is unnecessarily complicated. The ACA was a complicated bill building on ... ...you even explain what existed before Obamacare ? It's complicated then [laughs], s... ...average citizen. But also, I think ACA showed us that you have to think abou... ...So I think maybe the lesson from the ACA and what's happened since is that yo... ...moved forward, opposition to the Affordable Care Act might diminish a bit or be diffused b... ...had for the Republican approach to the ACA . Sort of like, “We opposed it, thi... ...do in terms of implementation of the Affordable Care Act ? It's really trying to set up th... ...cap on—the elimination of the caps? ACA said no more caps on coverage on a... ...I would say one of the lessons from the ACA —we put so much time and energy int... ...population in a single program. The Affordable Care Act , which changed healthcare across th... ...shortly after the passage of the Affordable Care Act . Do you think not having a centra... ...every agency that touched a part of the Affordable Care Act to try to coordinate that effort. ... ...the policy, believe it or not, in the ACA . And one of them was this concept o... ...upheld the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act 's individual mandate. Were you in th... ...that we did make progress, that the ACA was just one step in that history... Show more... Frances Beinecke ...they had. I think we all know that the Affordable Care Act dominated. We wanted climate to be on ... Gina McCarthy ...with so much time spent on getting the Affordable Care Act through and getting the economi... Kathleen Sebelius ...and media effort to try and stop the Affordable Care Act [ACA]. But one of the narratives tha... ...try and stop the Affordable Care Act [ ACA ]. But one of the narratives that wa... ...2009, the Senate passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act , sixty votes to thirty-nine votes wit... ...on March twenty-third, 2010, when the Affordable Care Act was passed. But I wanted to ask you... ...about the implementation phase of the Affordable Care Act and maybe to begin by talking abou... ...during the implementation phase of the Affordable Care Act . I've read that in February of 2011... ...contraception to employees under the Affordable Care Act . Some senior advisors had warne... ...can check—that actually, prior to the Affordable Care Act , had passed mandatory contraceptio... ...upheld the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act 's individual mandate. What do yo... ...be impacted in a negative way by the Affordable Care Act . That was absolutely false. It was ... ...had chosen to use to implement the Affordable Care Act that led to those delays and problem... ...to all of us.” And she said, “When the Affordable Care Act passed, I could take my savings an... ...with H1N1 and with the framing of the Affordable Care Act . The organization of food safet... ...a few follow-up questions about the Affordable Care Act and in particular what happened afte... ...in particular what happened after the Affordable Care Act became law. In March of 2010, you tol... ...the implementation and rollout of the Affordable Care Act was—that what was at stake in th... ...of Representatives voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act for the first time. I lost coun... ...communicate with the public about the Affordable Care Act ? Sure, but I want to also go back ... ...debate during the effort to pass the Affordable Care Act . But now the opposition, if you will... ...to discuss the implementation of the Affordable Care Act . What audience did you want to reac... ...to ask one final question about the Affordable Care Act . In our first sessions, we discussed ... ...you were governor of Kansas. When the Affordable Care Act became law, Congressman James Clybur... ...Yes. Jim Clyburn was talking about the Affordable Care Act being the Civil Rights Act of 2010. An... ...had been created by Title VIII of the Affordable Care Act . At the time you said, “We have no... ...other administration officials on the Affordable Care Act , after it was passed, took away fro... ...in it. The House had passed both the Affordable Care Act and an energy bill, which would hav... ...to take a pause and not work on the Affordable Care Act in the summer of 2009 but wait for thi... ...So it was less about my post- ACA time with working on other issues an... ...and media effort to try and stop the Affordable Care Act [ACA]. But one of the narratives tha... ...try and stop the Affordable Care Act [ ACA ]. But one of the narratives that wa... ...2009, the Senate passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act , sixty votes to thirty-nine votes wit... ...on March twenty-third, 2010, when the Affordable Care Act was passed. But I wanted to ask you... ...about the implementation phase of the Affordable Care Act and maybe to begin by talking abou... ...during the implementation phase of the Affordable Care Act . I've read that in February of 2011... ...contraception to employees under the Affordable Care Act . Some senior advisors had warne... ...can check—that actually, prior to the Affordable Care Act , had passed mandatory contraceptio... ...upheld the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act 's individual mandate. What do yo... ...be impacted in a negative way by the Affordable Care Act . That was absolutely false. It was ... ...had chosen to use to implement the Affordable Care Act that led to those delays and problem... ...to all of us.” And she said, “When the Affordable Care Act passed, I could take my savings an... ...with H1N1 and with the framing of the Affordable Care Act . The organization of food safet... ...a few follow-up questions about the Affordable Care Act and in particular what happened afte... ...in particular what happened after the Affordable Care Act became law. In March of 2010, you tol... ...the implementation and rollout of the Affordable Care Act was—that what was at stake in th... ...of Representatives voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act for the first time. I lost coun... ...communicate with the public about the Affordable Care Act ? Sure, but I want to also go back ... ...debate during the effort to pass the Affordable Care Act . But now the opposition, if you will... ...to discuss the implementation of the Affordable Care Act . What audience did you want to reac... ...to ask one final question about the Affordable Care Act . In our first sessions, we discussed ... ...you were governor of Kansas. When the Affordable Care Act became law, Congressman James Clybur... ...Yes. Jim Clyburn was talking about the Affordable Care Act being the Civil Rights Act of 2010. An... ...had been created by Title VIII of the Affordable Care Act . At the time you said, “We have no... ...other administration officials on the Affordable Care Act , after it was passed, took away fro... ...in it. The House had passed both the Affordable Care Act and an energy bill, which would hav... ...to take a pause and not work on the Affordable Care Act in the summer of 2009 but wait for thi... ...So it was less about my post- ACA time with working on other issues an... ...and media effort to try and stop the Affordable Care Act [ACA]. But one of the narratives tha... ...try and stop the Affordable Care Act [ ACA ]. But one of the narratives that wa... ...2009, the Senate passed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act , sixty votes to thirty-nine votes wit... ...on March twenty-third, 2010, when the Affordable Care Act was passed. But I wanted to ask you... ...about the implementation phase of the Affordable Care Act and maybe to begin by talking abou... ...during the implementation phase of the Affordable Care Act . I've read that in February of 2011... ...contraception to employees under the Affordable Care Act . Some senior advisors had warne... ...can check—that actually, prior to the Affordable Care Act , had passed mandatory contraceptio... ...upheld the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act 's individual mandate. What do yo... ...be impacted in a negative way by the Affordable Care Act . That was absolutely false. It was ... ...had chosen to use to implement the Affordable Care Act that led to those delays and problem... ...to all of us.” And she said, “When the Affordable Care Act passed, I could take my savings an... ...with H1N1 and with the framing of the Affordable Care Act . The organization of food safet... ...a few follow-up questions about the Affordable Care Act and in particular what happened afte... ...in particular what happened after the Affordable Care Act became law. In March of 2010, you tol... ...the implementation and rollout of the Affordable Care Act was—that what was at stake in th... ...of Representatives voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act for the first time. I lost coun... ...communicate with the public about the Affordable Care Act ? Sure, but I want to also go back ... ...debate during the effort to pass the Affordable Care Act . But now the opposition, if you will... ...to discuss the implementation of the Affordable Care Act . What audience did you want to reac... ...to ask one final question about the Affordable Care Act . In our first sessions, we discussed ... ...you were governor of Kansas. When the Affordable Care Act became law, Congressman James Clybur... ...Yes. Jim Clyburn was talking about the Affordable Care Act being the Civil Rights Act of 2010. An... ...had been created by Title VIII of the Affordable Care Act . At the time you said, “We have no... ...other administration officials on the Affordable Care Act , after it was passed, took away fro... ...in it. The House had passed both the Affordable Care Act and an energy bill, which would hav... ...to take a pause and not work on the Affordable Care Act in the summer of 2009 but wait for thi... ...So it was less about my post- ACA time with working on other issues an... Show more... 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