Remarks by the President Before Meeting with Insurance Companies

Roosevelt Room

3:31 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  I want to welcome the executives who are here from a lot of the insurance companies that are participating in the marketplace.  We all share a similar value, which is we want to make sure that Americans have good, solid coverage that gives them the security they need for themselves and their family members if and when they get sick. 

And we know the demand is out there for that.  We had, despite all the problems with the website, over a million people apply.  Many multiples of that wanted to see what options were available.  Obviously because of the problems with the website some folks have been blocked from seeing the well-priced benefits that are available in the marketplace, and so we're working 24/7 to get it fixed.  The website is working a lot better now than it was a couple of weeks ago.

And what we're going to be doing is brainstorming on how do we make sure that everybody understands what their options are.  Because of choice and competition, a whole lot of Americans who’ve always seen health insurance out of reach are going to be in a position to purchase it.  And because of the law, we're also going to be able to provide them help even if they are still having trouble purchasing that insurance.  But they’ve got to know what those options are in order to be successful.

So I appreciate all these folks coming in.  We're going to be soliciting ideas from them.  There’s going to be a collaborative process.  We want to make sure that we get this done so that in the years to come every American is going to have the kind of affordable health care that they all deserve.

Thank you very much for being here. 

END
3:33 P.M. EST