Obama Fires Back At Critics After Apologizing For Healthcare Debacle
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- President Barack Obama is finally saying he's sorry over one of his health care promises.
But on Friday he was back pushing hard for his plan, CBS 2's Dick Brennan reported.
The president was in New Orleans and despite his apology over his statements about his health care plan, he still took a shot at his critics.
"I know health care is controversial, so there's only going to be so much support we get on that on a bipartisan basis until it's working really well. Then they are going to stop calling it Obamacare," the president said.
Obama once again defended his health care plan a day after apologizing for a broken promise: that if you liked your health plan, you could keep it.
"I am sorry -- that they, uh, you know, are finding themselves in this situation based on assurances they got from me. We've got to work hard to make sure that they know we hear 'em and we are going to do everything we can to deal with folks who find themselves in a tough position as a consequence of this," the president said.
Cathy Wagner was one such Obamacare fan. She wrote the president to tell him, but then she got a notice in the mail that her insurance plan was canceled.
"I was really shocked. All of my hopes were dashed. Oh my gosh, President Obama, this is not what we hoped for, not what we were told," Wagner said.
The next shocker she received was for the same coverage she and her husband would pay 35 percent more and have a higher deductible.
"Our premium for next year going up to over $1,000 a month for two of us and we're two fairly healthy individuals," Wagner said.
So what can be done for the millions like Wagner and her husband? On Friday, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius did not have an answer.
"We're looking at a number of options where there may be an opportunity for that number of people to look at plans that they have right now, but there isn't any specific proposal at the table immediately," Sebelius said.
House Speaker John Boehner is calling on the president to support a bill that would allow Americans to keep the coverage they like. The bill is expected to be voted on next week.
We here at CBSNewYork.com would like to know your healthcare experiences. If you have a story, tweet Brennan at @brennanwcbswlny.
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