Remarks by the President to ACA Coalition Partners and Supporters

St. Regis Hotel
Washington, D.C. 

5:58 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, everybody!  (Applause.)  Hey!  (Applause.)  Thank you, everybody.  Have a seat.  Have a seat.  Hey!  (Applause.)  It is good to see you.  And thank you to -- give Leslie a big round of applause for the wonderful introduction.  (Applause.)  Leslie is an example of folks on the ground who are just working day in, day out, through rain and -- I guess no snow in Florida, but -- (laughter) -- rain, or hot sun.  But it’s just a real honor to have somebody like Leslie introduce me, because that’s what not only our health reform effort is all about, but that’s what our politics is all about.  She’s just a great example -- as are all of you. 

I want to thank two leaders who’ve been working really hard to do the same on behalf of people that they serve.  First of all, Governor Deval Patrick of Massachusetts.  (Applause.)  And Congressman Eliot Engel, who’s been doing outstanding work.  Give Eliot a big round of applause.  (Applause.) 

And I am proud to be with all of you.  Some of your groups who are represented here have made access to affordable health care your mission.  That’s what you do.  You’ve been organizing even before I was President, because you understood how important it was.  Some of you have made this the cause of your lives.  So today, I’m here to simply say thank you.  We could not have passed this law without you.  And we’re not going to be able to get the job done without you.

It was five years ago today that I had the honor of being elected President.  (Applause.)  Some of you remember, I had no gray hair -- (laughter) -- and Malia came up to here -- (laughter) -- and Sasha was about here.  And across so many fronts, we’ve made just incredible progress.  In other areas, we’ve still got more work to do.  But there’s not a day that goes by that I am not incredibly humbled by this extraordinary privilege to be able to serve the American people. 

And it fills me with resolve -- every time I meet folks like you each and every day, it fills me with resolve to make sure that every minute, every hour of every day that I’m in this office, I am working hard to make sure that your lives and your children’s lives and grandchildren’s lives are just a little bit better. 

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Thank you!  (Applause.) 

THE PRESIDENT:  And during the campaign, I made you a promise.  I promised that by the end of my first term, I would have passed health care reform into law.  I would have signed that bill.  And thanks to your help, we did that.  We got it done.  (Applause.) 

Now, let’s face it, a lot of us didn’t realize that passing the law was the easy part.  (Laughter.)  But there’s been so much noise and so much misinformation, and this incredible organized effort to block the notion that everybody should have affordable health care in this country that I think it’s important for us to step back and take a look at what’s already been accomplished -- because a lot of times it doesn’t make news.  Controversies make news, but what’s happened quietly across the country over the last three years hasn’t got a lot of attention.  In fact, a lot of the people who are benefiting don’t even know it.

Because of you, the insurance market now has the strongest consumer protections that this country has ever known.  No more discriminating against kids with preexisting conditions.  No more dropping your policy when you get sick.  No more lifetime limits on the care that you can receive.  All of that and more is part of a new Patient’s Bill of Rights that’s smack dab in the middle of the Affordable Care Act, and it’s helping people right now.  (Applause.) 

Because of you, there are 3 million young adults under the age of 26 that are getting coverage by staying on their parents’ plan right now -- including Leslie’s son.  That happened because of you.  (Applause.)  Because of you, millions of seniors on Medicare have saved hundreds of dollars on their prescription medicine.  It’s already happened.  They may not be aware of it, but that’s already taking place.  They’re saving money because of the work that you did. 

More than 100 million Americans have gotten free preventive care like mammograms and contraceptive care with no copays.  That’s all part of the law.  Because of you, millions of Americans will soon know the security of health care, in some cases for the first time, in states where governors have chosen to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.  Arkansas has covered almost 14 percent of its uninsured already.  Think about that -- 14 percent of the uninsured in Arkansas are already covered just because of the work that you did.  Oregon has covered 10 percent of its uninsured already.  (Applause.)  Got some Oregon folks in the house.  (Laughter and applause.) 

And what’s been encouraging is you’ve got some conservative Republican governors who, in some cases, have put aside politics to do the same.  They recognize this is too good a deal for the people of our state for us to pass up even if it’s not convenient politics for us.  And I'm proud of them for doing that.  And I hope more will, too.  (Applause.)  Because nobody deserves to be denied health care because of politics.  (Applause.)

And because of you, the Affordable Care Act created new marketplaces where Americans without health care, and Americans who buy it on their own, can shop and buy quality private insurance plans.  Insurers in the marketplace can no longer use your medical history to charge you more.  If you’ve got a preexisting condition, they’ve got to take you.  Folks who’ve been sick have finally the same chance to buy quality, affordable health care as everybody else.  And that's happening because of you. 

A lot of folks are going to qualify for new tax credits that will immediately bring down the price even further.  For a young person who’s trying several jobs until they find that one that sticks, that means they’re going to be able to buy insurance that gives them the freedom to pursue the careers that they want without fear that an illness or an accident will derail their dreams.

And most of the young people in this country who don't have health insurance currently, they’re going to be able to get it for less than their cell phone bill, less than their cable bill. (Applause.)  That's happening because of you.

So it’s important sometimes to just step back and say, all that stuff is already happening.  A lot of it got underreported, kind of crept up on people.  And as we move forward, you’ve got to keep that in mind. 

Now, there have been some tough parts, let’s face it.  The truth of the matter is, is that while ultimately, healthcare.gov, the website, is going to be the easiest place to shop for and buy these new plans -- and it’s getting faster and more stable -- it’s not where it needs to be yet.  I’m not happy about it, as you might imagine.  (Laughter.)  I'm not happy about it because I know that people need health care and this is the right place to get it. 

I know you’re not happy about it because as long as the website is not working the way it should, it makes it harder for you to help them get covered.  And that’s unacceptable and I'm taking responsibility to make sure that it gets fixed.  And it will be fixed.  We're working overtime to get it fixed.  (Applause.)

But in the meantime, as you go back to your home states, I just want to remind everybody that they can still apply for coverage by phone, by mail, in person.  There was a time when the Internet didn’t exist.  (Laughter.)  It wasn’t that long ago.  A lot of programs like Medicaid still don't operate electronically. And so there are ways for us to still work to make sure that people are getting the opportunity to buy affordable, quality health care.

And remember, we're only one month into a six-month open enrollment period.  Everybody who wants to get insurance through the marketplace, they’ll be able to get it.  It’s not as if this is a one-day sale or something.  (Laughter.)  So we've just got to keep on working.

Now, the other news that people have focused on lately has to do with notices that some Americans have gotten from their insurance companies suggesting that, because of the Affordable Care Act, they may be losing the plan that they bought.  Now, while virtually every insurer is offering new, better plans and competing for these folks’ business, I realize that can be scary for people if they just get some notice like that.  So we've got to make sure that we're getting them the right information.

Remember, one of the reasons that we took up health care reform was not just to help the uninsured, but also the underinsured or the badly insured.  People forget how unfair and unaffordable the status quo has been for millions of Americans, millions of hardworking families who live in constant fear that just one illness or accident could cost them their home or their life savings.  Sometimes, by the way, they don't know how vulnerable they are, because when you look at the fine print, it turns out that a whole bunch of things that people think are covered aren't covered.  We know because we heard the stories of people saying, I'd been paying premiums all these years and suddenly I found out that I've got all these out-of-pocket expenses that I can't afford, and I'm going broke.  That's part of what health care reform was about.  We did this to put an end to the days when the individual market had almost no standards; when every year thousands of Americans would be dropped from their coverage.

People are acting like this is some new phenomenon.  Every year there was churn in this individual market.  The average increase was double-digits on premiums in the same market, with or without the Affordable Care Act.  People were getting, oftentimes, a very bad deal.  And as a consequence, what you had is Americans who’d be dropped from coverage, exposed to massive double-digit premium increases, or most frequently, they’d just be denied access altogether because of some preexisting condition. 

Now, if you have or had one of these plans before the Affordable Care Act came into law and you really like that plan, what we said was you could keep it if it hasn’t changed since the law was passed.  So we wrote into the Affordable Care Act you’re grandfathered in on that plan.

But if the insurance company changes it, then what we're saying is they’ve got to change it to a higher standard.  They’ve got to make it better.  They’ve got to improve the quality of the plan that they’re selling.  That’s part of the promise that we made, too.  That’s why we went out of our way to make sure that the law allowed for grandfathering, but if we had allowed these old plans to be downgraded or sold to new enrollees once the law had already passed, then we would have broken an even more important promise -- making sure that Americans gain access to health care that doesn’t leave them one illness away from financial ruin. 

So the bottom line is, is that we are making the insurance market better for everybody.  (Applause.)  And that’s the right thing to do.  That is the right thing to do. 

So, today, that promise means that every plan in the marketplace has to cover a core set of minimum benefits, like maternity care and preventive care, mental health care, prescription drug benefits, hospitalization.  Preexisting conditions like allergies or heartburn -- (laughter) -- can’t be an excuse for you being charged more.  Being a woman can’t be used as an excuse to be charged more.  (Applause.)  

Which means if you couldn’t afford coverage before for a child with asthma -- well, now he’s covered.  If you’re one of the one in five Americans with a mental illness -- you’re covered.  If you’re a young couple that’s expecting a baby -- congratulations.  (Laughter.)  And by the way, you're covered.  (Laughter.)

So we should encourage any American who gets one of these letters to shop around in the new marketplace.  Now, I recognize that while the website isn't working as fast as it needs to, that makes it tougher and that makes it scarier for folks.  We want them immediately to get the information that they need, to understand they’ve got more competition and more options.

Now, insurers are offering these new options, and they don’t just want to keep their current policyholders; they want to cover the uninsured, too.  And because of the competition between insurers, and the new health care tax credits, most people will be able to buy better plans for the same price or even cheaper than what they’ve gotten before.

Now, some Americans with higher incomes will pay more on the front end for better insurance with better benefits and better protections that could eventually help them a lot, even if right now they’d rather be paying less.  But nobody is going to lose their right to health insurance coverage.  Nobody can be dropped altogether.  Those days are over.  They’re not coming back.  That happened because of the work that you did.  (Applause.)

Look, here’s the bottom line.  I don’t need to tell any of you because you’ve been on the frontlines on this.  Change isn’t easy, period.  Change in this area is especially hard, because it touches on everybody.  Everybody’s lives are impacted and it’s a very personal issue.  And when you're undertaking something this big, this important, like health care reform, we knew we were going to get resistance.  Maybe not -- (laughter) -- to the same degree as we've gotten.  But there’s a reason why this hasn’t gotten done before. 

And, by the way, there’s a reason why the opponents of this law throughout have never been able to actually offer a better alternative.  Right?  Initially, they said they would.  (Laughter.)  But they didn’t -- because they understand that it’s hard.  But when the unexpected happens, when the unanticipated happens, we’re just going to work on it; we're going to fix things that aren't working the way they should be; we're going to smooth this thing out and we're just going to keep on going.  We are going to keep on going because it is too important to too many people, not just in this generation but in future generations.  And we’ve got to make sure that we stay on track to make this work.  (Applause.)

So I don’t want any of you to ever lose sight of why we got involved in this thing in the first place.  We did it for every mother who was desperate because of a child with a preexisting condition.  We did it for every hardworking American who was forced to give up their insurance and hang his or her fortunes on chance.  We did it for the same reason that Leslie did -- because of our own experiences or heartbreak under a broken health care system.  We decided we need to build something better, no matter how hard it is.

And here’s the thing:  Every day, there are new stories to tell.  I hear them every single day.  And I know you do, too -– when you help folks enroll for new plans; when you help small business owners cover their workers for the first time; when you help a young woman get the coverage that she deserves. 

A couple weeks ago, I got a letter from Jeffrey Huff -- Lexington, Kentucky.  Currently, Jeffrey and his girlfriend pay $1,500 a month to cover their family of six.  Once the marketplaces opened, his girlfriend went online, enrolled in a new plan that will cut their monthly cost by more than half -- drop their deductible from $3,000 to $500. 

So he told me in his letter that it “breathed life back into our family.  We can’t wait until January 1st.”  He said if he could give one message to the American people, it’s this:  “It works.  Obamacare is working for people.”  (Applause.)

Now, let’s face it, stories like Jeffrey’s may not get all the media attention, but they’re why we did this.  They’re what we’re fighting for.  And I know you hear them, too.  So I’m asking all of you to go out there and share these stories far and wide.  Because it’s nothing new to have a bunch of folks spreading fear and misinformation and confusion and cynicism about this law -- we’ve been facing that for four years.  We’re used to that. 

What’s new is that, today, there are Americans with health care for the very first time.  Today, there are Americans whose lives have been saved by preventive care that they wouldn’t have gotten before.  Today, there are Americans who can breathe easy again, free from the crushing fear that an illness or accident means they lose everything.  So the rhetoric of reform is becoming the reality of reform.  And we’re not going back.

So just remember this:  I have run my last political campaign, but I’ll tell you what, I’ve got one more campaign in me -- the campaign to make sure that this law works for every single person in America.  (Applause.)  And I’m asking for your help.  I need your help to implement this law.  I need your help to educate folks about this law.  You need to keep knocking on doors and making phone calls and traveling all across your states.  (Applause.)  

For over a century, folks have argued that in this country, the security of affordable health care is a privilege.  It’s not a privilege; it is a right.  We are making that right a reality, but we’ve got to make sure that all of you stay on it, and you’re going to have me every step of the way.

God bless you, everybody.  God bless America.  (Applause.)

END                    
6:19 P.M. EST

Remarks by the President at Rally for Terry McAuliffe for Governor

Washington-Lee High School
Arlington, Virginia

2:28 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, Washington-Lee!  (Applause.)  Hello, Virginia!  (Applause.)  How are you doing?  (Applause.)  Are you fired up?  (Applause.)  Are you ready to vote on Tuesday?  (Applause.) 

Well, it is good to be back in Virginia -- (applause) -- with the next governor of the great Commonwealth of Virginia, Terry McAuliffe.  (Applause.)

Now, let me just say before I start saying nice things about Terry -- (laughter) -- that, like me, he married up.  (Laughter.) Those of you who have had a chance to meet Dorothy know that Terry clearly was very persistent, but whatever he did, it worked.  And as a consequence, they’ve got unbelievable children who are doing outstanding things on their own and are also on the campaign trail.  So please give it up for the family because they make some big sacrifices.  (Applause.)  And Dorothy is going to be a great first lady of the commonwealth.  (Applause.) 

I want to thank Terry for the introduction.  Over the last few weeks, a lot of people have been coming out and campaigning for Terry and I was tired of having other people have all the fun –- (laughter) -- Bill Clinton and Kerry Washington and all these folks.  (Applause.)  And I thought, I want to get in on the action.  And so did Joe Biden, who I understand is going to be out here tomorrow doing some campaigning.  (Applause.) 

But we’ve also got some folks here who are doing outstanding work in their own right and I want to acknowledge them.  They’re fighting every single day for you.  First of all, your wonderful Senator and former governor, Mark Warner.  (Applause.)  Three outstanding members of Congress who are fighting for you every single day -- Gerry Connolly, Jim Moran, Bobby Scott.  (Applause.)  Your next lieutenant governor, Ralph Northam.  (Applause.)  And your next attorney general, Mark Herring in the house.  (Applause.) 

So you’ve got an all-star team here.  There are no weak links.  Everybody is ready to work on behalf of Virginia.  But obviously at the top of the ticket is this man.  (Applause.)  And so let me just say a few things about Terry. 

First of all, I think it’s clear that he’s not shy.  (Laughter.)  This is a man who knows how to work and he knows how to push through obstacles, and he cares deeply about the opportunities that this country has given him, and he wants to make sure that those opportunities are there for everybody -- not just for a few.  He knows what it’s like to work hard and struggle to get ahead. 

You may know that Terry started his own business when he was 14.  He started 42 all together [He’s been in business 42 years all together], but the first one was when he was 14, paving driveways to help pay for college. And he’s brought that same grit and that same determination to everything he’s done, from public service to business, to being a husband and a father to the extraordinary children of the McAuliffe family.

So he knows what it’s like to work hard.  And when it comes to creating good jobs, when it comes to investing in education, when it comes to giving more Virginians the opportunities that they deserve, Terry understands what folks are going through.  He knows how to get things done.  And that’s why I hope you guys are fired up on Tuesday, because we cannot have people stay at home when so much is at stake.  (Applause.)  I hope you’re ready to fight for Terry, because he’s ready to fight for you for the next four years.  (Applause.) 

And this election is going to say a lot about Virginia’s future and about the country’s future.  It’s only been a few years since we went through a punishing recession.  Jobs were lost.  Too many people lost their homes, their security, their savings, including a lot of folks here in Virginia.  Now, thanks to some tough decisions that we made, we’re in a much different place.  Over the past three and a half years, we’ve created more than 7.5 million new jobs.  (Applause.)  Our deficits have been cut by more than half since I came into office.  (Applause.)  Health care costs are slowing.  The housing market is rebounding. The American auto industry is back on the move.  (Applause.) 

So we've made progress, but what Terry understands, what everybody on this ticket understands, is that there’s still too many folks out there who are hurting, too many families who are struggling, too many people who are in the middle class that  worry that maybe the life chances of their children won't be as good as theirs, and too many folks not yet in the middle class who no matter how hard they work don’t feel like those ladders of opportunity are still there for them.

And that’s what this election is about.  That’s what the great political contest in this country is all about.  Are we going to put in place policies that make sure that anybody in this country, no matter what you look like, no matter where you come from, no matter who you love, that people can make it if they try here in the United States of America -- and are we going to give each other the support that people need to succeed?  (Applause.)  That’s what's at stake. 

So that’s been my priority as President -- to grow the economy, to create good jobs, to have broad-based prosperity.  Because America has always succeeded when everybody succeeds.  That’s good for folks at the top and good for folks at the bottom.  When everybody has the opportunity to get a good job if they're willing to work hard, that’s good for businesses because now they've got more customers.  Everybody does well when our growth is from the middle out and from the bottom up, not just from the top down.  (Applause.) 

And Terry understands that.  That’s what I focus on every day.  That’s what Terry will focus on when he's governor.  (Applause.) 

Now, as has been pointed out, unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the focus of too many folks on the other side of the aisle.  You know, no party has a monopoly on wisdom.  And I'm a Democrat and I'm proud to be a Democrat -- (applause) -- but, historically, in our two-party system, there's always been the capacity for folks on both sides of the aisle to work and find compromise on issues like the environment, or issues like building roads, and educating our workforce, and funding basic research.  There's been a broad consensus that these are things that are important for America to do. 

But lately, instead of rolling up their sleeves and working on the things that we can agree on together, you've seen an extreme faction of the Republican Party that has shown again and again and again that they're willing to highjack the entire party -- and the country and the economy -- and grind progress to an absolute halt if they don’t get 100 percent of what they want. 

AUDIENCE:  Booo --

THE PRESIDENT:  Now, this isn't just speculation.  We just saw it last month.  Here in Virginia, you felt the pain of the first government shutdown in 17 years.  And there aren't a lot of states that felt more of the pain than folks right here in Virginia.  Paychecks were delayed.  Families were forced to go without the services that they depended on.  Business owners took it on the chin when customers cut back on their own spending. 

And, as Terry mentioned, his opponent says he's perfectly happy with it.  Now he says it's in the rearview mirror.  Well, it can't be in the rearview mirror if this is your operative theory of politics.  If you embrace the very politics that led to this shutdown, then I guarantee it's not in the rearview mirror of voters in Virginia.  They remember.  They understand that that is not how you govern and that is not how you move America forward. (Applause.) 

This isn't a game.  And there are very real consequences when you operate ideologically, the way some of these folks do.  There are practical consequences when you operate this way.  And Terry understands that.  During the shutdown, he called on Speaker Boehner to stand up to the tea party, reopen the government so Virginians could go back to work.  He stood up for you.  Instead of joining him, Terry's opponent sided with the people who would rather hurt folks to make a point.  Rather than back down, Terry's opponent doubled down.

Well, Virginia, look, I know sometimes folks in Congress can get away with acting irresponsibly; acting like compromise is a bad word.  Maybe it's good for their political prospects; maybe it's good for their political district.  But you cannot afford to have a governor who's thinking the same way.  (Applause.)  The governor is -- that’s a practical job.  That’s about making sure schools are funded.  That’s about making sure that roads are built.  That’s about making sure that research is funded, that universities are operating at full capacity.  That’s what a governor does.  (Applause.)  They can't afford to be ideologues. They've got to be able to work with everybody and compromise and get the job done.  And that’s who Terry McAuliffe is, and that’s why you've got to vote for him on Tuesday.  (Applause.) 

When hardworking families come looking for some support, when communities come looking for a way to create new jobs in their area, when folks are looking for some job training that can actually get them into that new industry that is growing here in Virginia, they're looking to the governor.  And the governor can't be waving around a whole bunch of theories that have nothing to do with people's ordinary lives.  It's got to be somebody who is there and understands them, is willing to work for them. 

That’s what Mark Warner did.  (Applause.)  That’s what Tim Kaine did.  (Applause.)  And that’s what Terry McAuliffe will do. He is part of that legacy.  (Applause.) 

And, by the way, that’s why you've got so many Republican businessmen and women, Republican mayors and state legislators, many of whom never supported a Democrat before, who are stepping up in this race and saying, Terry McAuliffe is the right man for the job.  (Applause.)  They understand that the job of governor is not tearing stuff down; it is building folks up, building communities up, moving forward, bringing people together.  And they know that Terry can do that.  (Applause.)

So this is all about moving forward.  It's not about going backwards.  It's about building, not destroying.  And, Virginia, I'm asking you to choose progress.  Because the truth is what's holding us back right now is not a lack of good ideas.  I've got to tell you, I spend a lot of time on policy and I'm in a lot of meetings, and there are some very tough problems that the world faces and that the country faces, but so much of what needs to be done for us to make progress is right there.  Everybody knows what it is.  Everybody understands what we need. 

For example, here in Virginia, if we invest in our roads and our bridges, if all across the country we invest in our ports and our infrastructure, we can put more people back to work right now.  We can strengthen our economy in the long term.  That is not a Republican or a Democratic idea; that’s just common sense. (Applause.)  We've done it in the past and we can do it again.  And Terry has got a plan to make it happen right here in Virginia.  (Applause.) 

We know -- the research has been done -- if we invest in early childhood education, and every young person, when they go to school, they are already ready to learn and they're getting the support that they need, that you see drastic improvement and that those young people become productive citizens.  We know that.  (Applause.)  Terry understands it.  That’s not Democrat or Republican -- that’s common sense.  Let's make those investments. (Applause.)

We know that if we make sure that college is affordable for young people, most states that educate their workforce, they're going to attract more companies, more businesses.  We know that. It's not a Democratic or Republican idea -- that’s common sense. Terry understands that.

We know that there's no contradiction between a smart energy policy that makes sure that we're not only investing in energy sources of the past, but also energy sources of the future; that we're caring for our environment and we're thinking about what kind of legacy we're leaving to our children, and we can still grow and be at the cutting edge of those changes here in Virginia and all across the country.  Terry understands that.  (Applause.) 

We know that investing in basic research -- science -- makes sense for America.  It always has.  And, Virginia, part of the reason why Virginia has grown so much during your lifetimes is because this has been a centerpiece of research and development, particularly up here in Northern Virginia.  We've seen it. 

So that makes our economy work better and makes our businesses thrive, and allows them to compete all across the world.  It makes our military outstanding.  That innovative drive -- that’s part of what makes America special.

Now, Terry's opponent, I guess he's got other ideas in mind. But I can tell you, we will not create jobs when you focus on things like attacking Social Security.  That doesn’t create jobs. It doesn’t create jobs when you go after scientists, and you try to offer your own alternative theories of how things work -- (laughter) -- and engage in litigation around stuff that isn't political.  It has to do with what's true.  It has to do with facts.  You don’t argue with facts.  (Applause.) 

You don’t create jobs and help the people of Virginia by trying to restrict the health care choices that women make.  (Applause.)  Women are capable of making those choices by themselves.  That's not going to create jobs.  (Applause.)  Trying to cut off funding for Planned Parenthood -- that’s not something that will grow our economy.  That's not going to help middle-class families get ahead.  It doesn’t even help -- it sure doesn’t help making sure that our daughters have the same opportunities as our sons.  (Applause.) 

So, look, here’s the bottom line.  You deserve a governor who wants to move this commonwealth forward, not backwards.  A governor who believes that we’re better than the kind of ideological politics that we see all too often.  Somebody who understands that even if we don’t agree on everything there’s no reason we can’t make progress on the issues that we do agree on  -- and, by the way, that we can disagree without being disagreeable.

Now, Terry McAuliffe will be that governor.  And you know that.  Otherwise you wouldn't be at this rally.  Right?  (Applause.)  You know that Terry is the right man for the job.  That’s why you’ve devoted so much time and energy and effort to get him elected -- (applause) -- because you want somebody in the statehouse who is going to be waking up every single day thinking about you.   

But here’s the thing -- you’ve got to finish the job.  You are just a few hours away from when the polls open here in the commonwealth.  And -- I know Terry feels this -- nothing makes me more nervous than when my supporters start feeling too confident, so I want to put the fear of God in all of you.  (Laughter.)  All right?  Virginia, historically, has always been a swing state.  And this race will be close, because past races in Virginia have always been close.  And the question is going to be whether or not you are willing to out-work the other side.

In these closing hours, are you willing to knock on some more doors? 

AUDIENCE:  Yes! 

THE PRESIDENT:  Are you willing to make some more phone calls? 

AUDIENCE:  Yes!

THE PRESIDENT:  Are you willing to talk to your friends and your neighbors and your coworkers? 

AUDIENCE:  Yes! 

THE PRESIDENT:  Are you willing to make sure that those family members who don't always vote during off-year elections are getting to the polls.  (Applause.)  Are you willing to make your case every single hour, every single minute, every single second?  Are you going to be willing to out-work and out-hustle the other folks?  Because I guarantee you Terry McAuliffe is going to be out-working and out-hustling the other guy over the next few hours.  (Applause.) 

You can bring this home.  You can make this happen.  But you’ve got to make sure that everybody goes out on Tuesday and chooses a better future for Virginia, and chooses a better future for America, and chooses Terry McAuliffe to be the next governor of the great Commonwealth of Virginia!  (Applause.)

Thank you very much, everybody.  God bless you.  (Applause.) God bless America.  (Applause.)

END                
2:50 P.M. EST

Remarks by the President at SelectUSA Investment Summit

Marriott Wardman Park Hotel
Washington, D.C.

1:40 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Thank you very much.  Please have a seat.

To my great friend, Penny Pritzker, thank you for the kind words, but more importantly, thank you for your outstanding leadership, for bringing us all together today, and being such a strong voice for America’s workers and America’s businesses.

I want to acknowledge Acting Deputy Secretary Patrick Gallagher, Undersecretary Francisco Sanchez, and Vinai Thummalapally, and their team at SelectUSA.  And I want to especially thank all of you -– state and local officials from across the country, and business leaders from around the world. 

As President, I have gone all over the world to go to bat for American exports and American workers.  I’ve been to many of your countries, and I’ve said that when we do business together, and when we trade and forge new partnerships, it’s good for all of us.  I want more American products being sold in your countries, and I want your companies investing more here in the United States of America.  Because it advances my top priority as President: creating good-paying American jobs and strengthening and broadening our middle class.  There’s nothing more important right now. 

And I’m here because I want your companies to know -- I want companies around the world to know -- that I believe there is no better place in the world to do business than the United States of America.  Think about it:  Globalization and technology means you can go just about anywhere.  But there are a whole lot of reasons you ought to come here.

We’re not just the world’s largest market -- we’re growing. Thanks to the grit and resilience of the American people, we’ve cleared away the rubble from the financial crisis, and over the past three and half years our businesses have created more than 7.5 million jobs.  Thanks to tough decisions we've made to tackle our long-term challenges, America is becoming more competitive from a business standpoint.  We’re reforming a broken health care system, and as a consequence, health care costs are rising at their slowest rate in 50 years.  We’ve cut our deficits by more than half since I took office, and they keep going down.  We've pursued an all-of-the-above energy strategy, and we are producing more traditional energy, more renewable energy than ever before, more natural gas than anyone in the world, and we have cut our carbon pollution in the process.

So while the case for doing business in America has always been strong, we’ve made it even stronger.  And of course, you will find no better workers than American workers. 

Our productivity is rising.  We have the world’s best universities, its most innovative entrepreneurs.  We have its strongest intellectual property protections to go along with a rule of law that matches up with anyone.  And thanks in part to a new initiative focused on exports and the new trade agreements that I’ve signed, we sell more products made in America to the rest of the world than ever before.

So as you’ve heard repeatedly today and you will hear undoubtedly after I leave this stage, America is open for business.  And businesses have responded.  After a decade in which many jobs left the United States to go overseas, now we’re seeing companies starting to bring jobs back because they're seeing the advantages of being located here.  Caterpillar is bringing jobs back from Japan.  Ford is bringing jobs back from Mexico.  After locating plants in other countries like China, Intel is opening its most advanced plant right here in the United States. 

And there are a whole range of factors involved.  People are looking at lower energy costs here.  They're looking at stability.  They're looking at the increased productivity of our workers.  All these things are adding up.  And people are saying, why would we want to be outside the world’s largest market when we can get our products made effectively here, and this is a great platform from which we can export all around the world.

And it’s not just companies based in the United States.   Honda is betting on America by expanding production operations in Ohio, in Alabama and Indiana.  And today, more Hondas are made in America than anyplace else in the world.  Samsung is betting on America by revamping their plant in Austin, Texas -- a $4 billion investment.  Siemens is betting on America by hiring hundreds of new workers in North Carolina and putting $50 million a year into training its U.S workforce. 

And that’s the kind of investment we’ve always welcomed as a nation, but the reason for SelectUSA is we know we can do more.  We know we can be better.  So two years ago, I acted on a recommendation from the CEOs on my Jobs Council, and we created SelectUSA to encourage more foreign companies to invest and create jobs right here in the United States.  And we’ve shown that this works. 

As Penny mentioned earlier this morning, with help from SelectUSA, the Austrian company Voestalpine is creating 220 jobs at an auto-parts plant in Cartersville, Georgia.  The Canadian company Bombardier is investing more than $600 million to expand its Learjet facility in Wichita, Kansas.  ASCO, a Belgian company that makes high-tech aircraft parts, reopened a shuttered factory in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and they’re expected to create 380 good jobs by the end of 2015.  And the list goes on.

And I want to see even more of these success stories told across this country, which means I want to make sure we are doing everything we can so that companies like yours want to set up shop here in the United States.  And for all the U.S. states and cities who are represented here today, we want to provide you with the tools you need to close those deals and create those jobs. 

So that’s why, today, I’m proud to announce that I’m expanding and enhancing SelectUSA to create the first-ever, fully coordinated U.S. government effort to recruit businesses to invest and create new jobs in the United States.  (Applause.)  To do that, I’m taking four new steps to bring more good jobs to our shores.   

First, building on the great work that our diplomats and embassies do every day, I’m making attracting foreign investment a formal part of the portfolio for our ambassadors and their teams around the world.  I meet with our dedicated embassy staffs wherever I go.  All of them are great ambassadors for America, and they're building bridges and connections every day.  Well, I want them doing even more to help foreign companies cross those bridges and come here.  And as they take on this expanded economic mission overseas, we’ll make sure that they've got the support that they need here at home.      

Which brings me to the second point:  Officials at the highest levels, up to and including me, are going to do even more to make the case for investing in America.  Now, I already do this everywhere I go around the world, in public and private.  I joke with a few American companies that I will deserve at least a gold watch at the end of my tenure from them.  (Laughter.)  I've racked up some pretty good sales.  But as a country, we don’t always make our case in a coordinated way that links our teams overseas to the right senior officials in Washington.  And we’re going to change that, make our advocacy more efficient, more effective, more connected so that businesses who are making decisions about where to invest are getting timely answers and know that they're going to have all the help that they need.     

Number three:  We’ll make sure that for the first time, companies who want to do business in America have a single point of contact at the federal level to cut through red tape.  We’re going to help you navigate national, state, local rules and regulations so that you can invest faster, open facilities faster, create jobs faster.

And finally, we’ll help states, cities, regions across America up their game by giving them more tools they need to compete, from the latest research and analysis to events that link them directly with potential investors.  This is a big country, and for a lot of foreign investors, it may be sometimes hard to navigate and figure out what exactly is going to fit the needs of your company.  Well, we can help you do that, and we can help make sure that state and local governments and regional offices, they're best-equipped to make their case, and we can get a good fit that’s good for the company and good for those communities.  

So a new focus at our embassies on attracting investment.   More outreach from Washington.  Coordinated advocacy to bring more jobs here.  New ways to cut through red tape.  And new tools for state and local leaders.  That’s what an expanded SelectUSA will mean for businesses and for our partners in U.S. states and cities.  And ultimately, I believe that will translate into more good middle-class jobs for America, my number-one priority. 

I will be asking Congress to do its part.  A lot of this is coordination.  It's not necessary to spend a lot of money, it's important for us to do what we do more wisely.  But making America even more attractive to investment should be something that everybody can agree on, Democrats and Republicans.  We’ve got to work together to get that done. 

At the macro level, that means getting beyond gridlock and some of the manufactured crises that we’ve seen come out of Washington, because I assume if you ask any CEO here if shutting down the government makes them more confident about wanting to bring jobs to America the answer will probably be no.  The notion of not paying our bills on time doesn’t inspire confidence.  So it’s time for Congress to focus on what the American people are focused on and what I’m focused on, which is creating good jobs that pay good wages and creating a good environment for investment. 

We do need to fully fund the SelectUSA program so that more middle-class folks have a chance to earn a decent living.  We need to make sure that we are resourcing the efforts to make sure that our workers can earn the skills that they need to compete in the global economy.  We’ve got -- one of the crown jewels of our education system is our community college system.  Not everybody is going to be training at MIT or Stanford, but these community colleges mean that we can partner with businesses, help defray some of the training costs, help design with businesses what exactly they’re going to need in terms of people getting hired.  And we’ve got the resources to do it.  We know how to do it.  But we’ve got to make sure Congress is supportive of that.

We’ve got to fix a broken immigration system so that we are welcoming more talented workers and entrepreneurs from around the world, and so if companies are coming here to locate and they’ve got a key individual that they need to bring over to make sure that the company is doing what it needs to do, that it’s not a tangle of red tape.  And the good news is we know we’ve got bipartisan support for immigration reform, we just have to make sure we get it done this year. 

We’ve got to continue to make smart investments in research and development, education, infrastructure -- all the things that historically have made America the most attractive place on the planet for businesses to invest.  We’ve got to build on that success.  That’s who we are as a country.  And we have a tradition here of tackling new challenges, adapting to new circumstances, seizing new opportunities.  And that’s one of the reasons that history shows over the last two centuries that when you bet on America, that bet pays off.

So to all the business leaders here today and around the world:  We want to be your partner in helping to write the next chapter in our history.   We want you to join the generations of immigrants and entrepreneurs and foreign investors who have discovered exactly what it means when we say we are the land of opportunity.  That is not a myth; it’s a proven fact. 

There are a lot of wonderful countries out there.  But this is a place where you can do business, create great products, deliver great services, make money, and do good at the same time.  So you should find out why there’s no substitute for those proud words:  “Made in America.”   And here’s three more words:  “Select the USA.”  When you do, you’ll find some of the world’s best workers, some of the world’s most innovative entrepreneurs.  You’ll find a government, and a President who is committed to helping you create more good jobs for the middle class, and helping you succeed well into the 21st century. 

We are open for business.  And we’re looking forward to partnering with all of you in the months and years ahead.

Thank you very much.  (Applause)

END
1:55 P.M. EDT

Remarks by the President and Governor Deval Patrick on the Affordable Care Act

Faneuil Hall
Boston, Massachusetts

3:50 P.M. EDT

GOVERNOR PATRICK:  How are you?  Good afternoon, everybody.  (Applause.)  How’s Red Sox Nation this afternoon?  (Applause.)

Ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, fellow citizens, I have the high honor of introducing to you the President of the United States.  (Applause.)  But, of course, you folks already know him.  (Laughter.)  So as the President is standing just offstage, I want to take my time here at the podium -- (laughter) -- to introduce all of you to him. 

In this storied hall today, Mr. President, are the architects and advocates for health care reform in Massachusetts. (Applause.)  This gathering right here is the broad coalition -- providers, payers, patients, consumers, policymakers, academics, business and labor, from both political parties, or no party at all -- who came together to invent health care reform in Massachusetts and then, importantly, stuck together to refine it as we moved forward.  (Applause.)

You are the leaders who, when we learned a hard lesson or hit a wall, stuck with it and with each other because of the shared value that health care is a public good and that every citizen deserves access to quality, affordable care.  (Applause.)

Quality, affordable care accessible to all improves lives, and in many cases, saves lives.  It gives peace of mind and economic security to working families.  It increases productivity for large and small employers alike.  It creates jobs and contributes to the strength of the Massachusetts economy.  It is a powerful statement of who we are as a commonwealth.  (Applause.)

And by every reasonable measure, it has been a success for us here in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  (Applause.)  How do we know?  Virtually, every resident in the commonwealth is insured today.  (Applause.)  More private companies offer insurance to their employees than ever before.  Over 90 percent of our residents have a primary care physician.  Preventive care is up and health disparities are down.  (Applause.)  Most important of all, on a whole range of measures, we are healthier both physically and mentally.

Over all these years, expansion itself has added only about 1 percent of state spending to our budget.  And thanks to the collective, continued hard work of this coalition, premiums are finally easing up.  Premium base rates were increasing over 16 percent just a few years ago.  Today, increases average less than 2 percent.  (Applause.)

And thanks to the President, America can look forward to the successes that Massachusetts has experienced these last seven years.  (Applause.) 

The truth is policy only matters when and where it touches people.  I know this policy matters because I've met people all across the commonwealth, in every walk of life, whose lives have been improved or saved because of the care our reforms made possible.  A couple of them are here today. 

Laura Ferreira -- where are you, Laura?  There you are.  Owns her own hair salon and is responsible for providing health insurance to her family of five, including her son, Mason, who’s right here with her.  Mason has a rare genetic condition.  Laura is able to afford his medicine because they found coverage through our Connecter, our version of the ACA marketplace.  This policy matters.  (Applause.)

David Gilloran works as a waiter.  Where are you David?  There you are.  Thank you for being here.  Soon after getting coverage through the Connector, David was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma.  His treatment was covered, and he is back to his old life and swimming for exercise.  God bless you, David.  (Applause.) 

Brian Thurber left his law firm job to become an entrepreneur in Massachusetts.  Brian, where are you?  There he is.  Because he was able to access quality insurance directly through the Connector, he is chasing his entrepreneurial dreams and on his way to becoming a creator of jobs for others without  -- being exposed to a health emergency along the way.  Keep going.  Good luck to you.  (Applause.)

Hundreds of thousands of Massachusetts people don’t fear going bankrupt from medical bills, or being thrown off their insurance if they get really sick, or being declared ineligible for insurance because they were seriously ill sometime in the past. 

If policy matters where it touches people, Mr. President, this policy matters a lot.  Health care reform is working for the people of Massachusetts, and it will work for the people of America.  (Applause.)

My Republican predecessor signed the legislation to expand health care reform in Massachusetts right here in this room, on this very stage.  His chief legislative partner was the Democratic state senator, Robert Travaglini, who was here then and is here today.  Where are you, Trav?  Thank you.  (Applause.)

So was our beloved Ted Kennedy.  So were many of the members of the coalition who are here again today.  And they have worked right alongside my team and me these last seven years to refine and improve the means while staying true to the ends.  I am proud of what we and they have accomplished, and I think they’re proud, too, and ought to be.  (Applause.) 

 But our launch seven years ago was not flawless.  (Laughter.)  We asked an IT staffer who has been at our Connector since the beginning what the start of implementing reform was like.  And this is what he said, and I’m quoting:  “We didn’t have a complicated eligibility process back then, but we did have outages caused by traffic peaks.  We experienced some issues with data mapping of plan detail that carriers called us on.  Our provider searches were not good, and the website was a constant work in progress over the first few years.  But other than that, it was smooth.”  (Laughter.) 

Any of this sound familiar, Mr. President?

So we started out with a website that needed work.  We had a lot of people with a lot of reasonable questions and not a good enough way to get them the answers.  But people were patient, we had good leadership, and that same coalition stuck with it and with us to work through the fixes, tech surge and all.  Why?  Why?  Because health reform in Massachusetts, like the Affordable Care Act, is not a website.  It’s a values statement.  (Applause.)  It's about insuring people against a medical catastrophe.  It's about being our brothers' and our sisters' keeper by helping others help themselves. 

The website glitches are inconvenient and annoying.  They must be fixed and I am confident they will be.  But I hope you know, Mr. President, that the same folks who pretend to be outraged about the website not working didn’t want the ACA to work in the first place.  (Applause.)  The urgency of fixing what's not working is, as we all know, about the American people who need simple, reliable and convenient access to information about coverage -- not about silencing critics who will never be silenced.

You and the Congress looked to Massachusetts, Mr. President, as a model for how to insure working people, and through that, how to help them lead better, more productive lives.  As you turn to the vital work of making that federal IT system work, we also want to be a model for how to keep your eye on the prize, and how, working together, you put people first.  (Applause.)  The people here, all in this coalition, totally get that.

So, Mr. President, welcome to the capital of Red Sox Nation. (Applause.)  And welcome, also, to the future of affordable, accessible health care for everybody.  (Applause.)  

Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States.  (Applause.) 

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, Boston!  (Applause.)  It's good to be back in Boston.  (Applause.)  It's good to be back in Boston because one of America's best governors introduced me -- Deval Patrick.  Give him a big round of applause.  (Applause.)  

It's good to see Congressman Bill Keating here.  Give Bill a big round of applause.  (Applause.)  I want to praise somebody who's not here -- I just left him -- but he wears his heart on his sleeve.  He loves this city so much, and it shows in what he's been doing for years now -- one of America's best mayors, Tom Menino.  (Applause.) 

And it's good to see all of you.  I was just at the airport -- Deval was kind enough to meet me, along with Mayor Menino.  And Mayor Menino went back to city hall to work so he could wrap up in time for the first pitch.  I understand that.  (Laughter.) I am well aware that a presidential visit is not the biggest thing going on today in Boston.  (Laughter and applause.)  I understand that.  I tried to grow a beard, but Michelle, she wasn't having it.  (Laughter.)  

I am also old enough to remember a time when the Red Sox were not in the World Series three times in 10 years.  (Laughter.)  But I know the chance to win one at home for the first time since 1918 is a pretty special thing.  (Applause.)  So I promise we will be done here in time -- (laughter) -- for everybody to head over to Fenway and maybe see Big Papi blast another homer.  (Applause.) 

And maybe the other Sox will do better next year.  (Laughter.)  You can hope.  You can dream.  (Laughter.)    

The reason I’m here, though, is because this is the hall where, seven years ago, Democrats and Republicans came together to make health reform a reality for the people of Massachusetts. It’s where then-Governor Mitt Romney, Democratic legislators, Senator Ted Kennedy, many of the folks who are here today joined forces to connect the progressive vision of health care for all with some ideas about markets and competition that had long been championed by conservatives.

And as Deval just said, it worked.  (Applause.)  It worked. Health reform --

PROTESTORS:  Mr. President -- don't punish me.  For our generation, stop the pipeline!  Mr. President --

THE PRESIDENT:  Okay.  We're talking about health care today, but we will --

PROTESTORS:  Mr. President --

AUDIENCE:  Booo --

THE PRESIDENT:  No, no, no, it’s okay.  That is the wrong rally.  (Laughter and applause.)  We had the climate change rally back in the summer.  (Laughter.)  This is the health care rally. (Applause.) 

So health care reform in this state was a success.  That doesn’t mean it was perfect right away.  There were early problems to solve.  There were changes that had to be made.  Anybody here who was involved in it can tell you that.  As Deval just said, enrollment was extremely slow.  Within a month, only about a hundred people had signed up -- a hundred.  But then 2,000 had signed up, and then a few more thousand after that.  And by the end of the year, 36,000 people had signed up. 

And the community all came together.  You even had the Red Sox help enlist people to get them covered.  And pretty soon, the number of young uninsured people had plummeted.  When recession struck, the financial security of health care sheltered families from deeper hardship.  And today, there is nearly universal coverage in Massachusetts, and the vast majority of its citizens are happy with their coverage.  (Applause.)

And by the way, all the parade of horribles, the worst predictions about health care reform in Massachusetts never came true.  They're the same arguments that you're hearing now.  Businesses didn’t stop covering workers; the share of employers who offered insurance increased.  People didn’t get left behind; racial disparities decreased.  Care didn’t become unaffordable; costs tracked what was happening in other places that wasn’t covering everybody.

Now, Mitt Romney and I ran a long and spirited campaign against one another, but I’ve always believed that when he was governor here in Massachusetts, he did the right thing on health care.  And then Deval did the right thing by picking up the torch and working to make the law work even better.  And it’s because you guys had a proven model that we built the Affordable Care Act on this template of proven, bipartisan success.  Your law was the model for the nation’s law.  (Applause.)

So let’s look at what’s happened.  Today, the Affordable Care Act requires insurance companies to abide by some of the strongest consumer protections this country has ever known -- a true Patient’s Bill of Rights.  (Applause.)  No more discriminating against kids with preexisting conditions.  (Applause.)  No more dropping your policy when you get sick and need it most.  (Applause.)  No more lifetime limits or restrictive annual limits.  (Applause.)  Most plans now have to cover free preventive care like mammograms and birth control.  (Applause.)  Young people can stay on their parents’ plans until they turn 26.  All of this is in place right now.  It is working right now.  (Applause.)

Now, the last element of this began on October 1st.  It’s when the Affordable Care Act created a new marketplace for quality, private insurance plans for the 15 percent or so of Americans who don’t have health care, and for the 5 percent of Americans who have to buy it on their own and they’re not part of a group, which means they don't get as good a deal. 

And this new marketplace was built on the Massachusetts model.  It allows these Americans who have been locked out to get a better deal from insurers -- they’re pooling their purchasing power as one big group.  And insurers want their business, which means they give them a better deal, and they compete for that business.  And as a result, insurers in the marketplace, they can't use your medical history to charge you more.  If you’ve been sick, you finally have the same chance to buy quality, affordable health care as everybody else. 

A lot of people will qualify for new tax credits under this law that will bring down costs even further, so that if you lose your job, or you start a new business, or you’re self-employed, or you're a young person trying several jobs until you find that one that sticks, you’re going to be able to be insured -- insurance that goes with you and gives you freedom to pursue whatever you want, without fear that accident or illness will derail your dreams.

Now, this marketplace is open now.  Insurance companies are competing for that business.  The deal is good; the prices are low.  But, let’s face it, we've had a problem.  The website hasn’t worked the way it’s supposed to over these last couple of weeks.  And as a consequence, a lot of people haven’t had a chance to see just how good the prices for quality health insurance through these marketplaces really are. 

Now, ultimately, this website, healthcare.gov, will be the easiest way to shop for and buy these new plans, because you can see all these plans right next to each other and compare prices and see what kind of coverage it provides.  But, look, there’s no denying it, right now, the website is too slow, too many people have gotten stuck.  And I am not happy about it.  And neither are a lot of Americans who need health care, and they’re trying to figure out how they can sign up as quickly as possible.  So there’s no excuse for it.  And I take full responsibility for making sure it gets fixed ASAP.  We are working overtime to improve it every day.  (Applause.)  Every day. 

And more people are successfully buying these new plans online than they were a couple of weeks ago, and I expect more people will be able to buy conveniently online every single day as we move forward.  We’re going to get these problems resolved. 

Now, in the meantime, you can still apply for coverage over the phone, or by mail, or in person, because those plans are waiting and you’re still able to get the kind of affordable, reliable health insurance that’s been out of reach for too many people for too long.

So I am old enough to remember when there was not such a thing as a website.  (Laughter.)  I know that’s shocking to people.  (Laughter.)  But the point is I’m confident these marketplaces will work, because Massachusetts has shown that the model works and we know what’s being offered by these insurers.  (Applause.)  We know it’s going to work. 

And so far, choice and competition in the new national marketplaces have helped keep costs lower than even we projected. In fact, nearly half of all single, uninsured 18-to-34-year-olds may be able to buy insurance for 50 bucks a month or less.  Less than your cellphone bill, less than your cable bill.  (Applause.) And one study shows that nearly 6 in 10 uninsured Americans may find coverage for 100 bucks a month or less, even if they’re older than 34. 

And, frankly, if every governor was working as hard as Deval, or Governor O’Malley in Maryland, or Governor Cuomo in New York, to make this law work for their citizens, as opposed to thinking politically, about 8 in 10 Americans would be getting health insurance for less than 100 bucks a month.  (Applause.)

And, by the way, it’s not just in Massachusetts.  Look at Kentucky.  Governor Steve Beshear, who’s a Democrat, is like a man possessed with helping more people get covered.  He thinks it’s the right thing to do.  Keep in mind I did not win in Kentucky.  (Laughter.)  But there are a lot of uninsured people in Kentucky, and they’re signing up. 

Oregon has covered 10 percent of its uninsured citizens already because of the Affordable Care Act.  Ten percent of the uninsured have already gotten coverage.  (Applause.) 

Arkansas -- I didn’t win that state either -- (laughter) -- has covered almost 14 percent of its uninsured already.  (Applause.)  That’s already happened. 

And you’ve got some Republican governors, like Governor Kasich of Ohio, who’ve put politics aside and they’re expanding Medicaid through this law to cover millions of people. 

Now, unfortunately, there are others that are so locked in to the politics of this thing that they won't lift a finger to help their own people, and that’s leaving millions of Americans uninsured unnecessarily.  That’s a shame.  Because if they put as much energy into making this law work as they do in attacking the law, Americans would be better off.  (Applause.)  Americans would be better off.   

So that’s the Affordable Care Act:  Better protections for Americans with insurance; a new marketplace for Americans without insurance; new tax credits to help folks afford it; more choice, more competition; real health care security not just for the uninsured or underinsured, but for all of us -- because we pay more in premiums and taxes when Americans without good insurance visit the emergency room.  (Applause.)  We get taxed.

And since we all benefit, there are parts of this law that also require everybody to contribute, that require everybody to take some measure of responsibility.  So, to help pay for the law, the wealthiest Americans –- families who make more than $250,000 a year –- they've got to pay a little bit more.  The most expensive employer health insurance plans no longer qualify for unlimited tax breaks.  Some folks aren't happy about that, but it's the right thing to do. 

Just like in Massachusetts, most people who can afford health insurance have to take responsibility to buy health insurance, or pay a penalty.  And employers with more than 50 employees are required to either provide health insurance to their workers or pay a penalty -- again, because they shouldn’t just dump off those costs onto the rest of us.  Everybody has got some responsibilities.   

Now, it is also true that some Americans who have health insurance plans that they bought on their own through the old individual market are getting notices from their insurance companies suggesting that somehow, because of the Affordable Care Act, they may be losing their existing health insurance plan.  This has been the latest flurry in the news.  Because there's been a lot of confusion and misinformation about this, I want to explain just what's going on. 

One of the things health reform was designed to do was to help not only the uninsured, but also the underinsured.  And there are a number of Americans –- fewer than 5 percent of Americans -– who've got cut-rate plans that don’t offer real financial protection in the event of a serious illness or an accident.  Remember, before the Affordable Care Act, these bad-apple insurers had free rein every single year to limit the care that you received, or use minor preexisting conditions to jack up your premiums or bill you into bankruptcy.  So a lot of people thought they were buying coverage, and it turned out not to be so good. 

Before the Affordable Care Act, the worst of these plans routinely dropped thousands of Americans every single year.  And on average, premiums for folks who stayed in their plans for more than a year shot up about 15 percent a year.  This wasn’t just bad for those folks who had these policies, it was bad for all of us -- because, again, when tragedy strikes and folks can’t pay their medical bills, everybody else picks up the tab. 

Now, if you had one of these substandard plans before the Affordable Care Act became law and you really liked that plan, you’re able to keep it.  That’s what I said when I was running for office.  That was part of the promise we made.  But ever since the law was passed, if insurers decided to downgrade or cancel these substandard plans, what we said under the law is you've got to replace them with quality, comprehensive coverage  -- because that, too, was a central premise of the Affordable Care Act from the very beginning.

And today, that promise means that every plan in the marketplace covers a core set of minimum benefits, like maternity care, and preventive care, and mental health care, and prescription drug benefits, and hospitalization.  And they can’t use allergies or pregnancy or a sports injury or the fact that you're a woman to charge you more.  They can't do that anymore.  (Applause.)  They can't do that anymore. 

If you couldn’t afford coverage because your child had asthma, well, he’s now covered.  If you’re one of the 45 million Americans with a mental illness, you’re now covered.  If you’re a young couple expecting a baby, you’re covered.  You’re safer.  The system is more secure for you and it’s more secure for everybody. 

So if you’re getting one of these letters, just shop around in the new marketplace.  That’s what it’s for.  Because of the tax credits we’re offering, and the competition --

PROTESTOR:  Mr. President, ban the Keystone Pipeline!  For our generation, you need to do this!

THE PRESIDENT:  Because of the tax credits that we’re offering and the competition between insurers, most people are going to be able to get better, comprehensive health care plans for the same price or even cheaper than projected.  You’re going to get a better deal.

Now, there’s a fraction of Americans with higher incomes who will pay more on the front end for better insurance with better benefits and protections like the Patient’s Bill of Rights.  And that will actually save them from financial ruin if they get sick.  But nobody is losing their right to health care coverage. And no insurance company will ever be able to deny you coverage, or drop you as a customer altogether.  Those days are over.  And that’s the truth.  (Applause.)  That is the truth.  

So for people without health insurance, they’re finally going to be able to get it.  For the vast majority of people who have health insurance that works, you can keep it.  For the fewer than 5 percent of Americans who buy insurance on your own, you will be getting a better deal.

So anyone peddling the notion that insurers are cancelling people’s plan without mentioning that almost all the insurers are encouraging people to join better plans with the same carrier, and stronger benefits and stronger protections, while others will be able to get better plans with new carriers through the marketplace, and that many will get new help to pay for these better plans and make them actually cheaper -- if you leave that stuff out, you’re being grossly misleading, to say the least.  (Applause.)  

But, frankly, look, you saw this in Massachusetts -- this is one of the challenges of health care form.  Health care is complicated and it’s very personal, and it’s easy to scare folks. And it’s no surprise that some of the same folks trying to scare people now are the same folks who’ve been trying to sink the Affordable Care Act from the beginning.  (Applause.)  And frankly, I don’t understand it.  Providing people with health care, that should be a no-brainer.  (Applause.)  Giving people a chance to get health care should be a no-brainer.  (Applause.) 

And I’ve said before, if folks had actually good ideas, better ideas than what’s happening in Massachusetts or what we’ve proposed for providing people with health insurance, I’d be happy to listen.  But that’s not what’s happening.  And anyone defending the remnants of the old, broken system as if it was working for people, anybody who thinks we shouldn’t finish the job of making the health care system work for everybody -– especially when these folks offer no plan for the uninsured or the underinsured, or folks who lose their insurance each year -- those folks should have to explain themselves.  (Applause.) 

Because I don’t think we should go back to discriminating against kids with preexisting conditions.  (Applause.)  I don’t think we should go back to dropping coverage for people when they get sick, or because they make a mistake on their application.  (Applause.)  I don’t think we should go back to the daily cruelties and indignities and constant insecurity of a broken health care system.  And I’m confident most Americans agree with me.  (Applause.) 

So, yes, this is hard, because the health care system is a big system, and it’s complicated.  And if it was hard doing it just in one state, it's harder to do it in all 50 states -- especially when the governors of a bunch of states and half of the Congress aren't trying to help.  Yes, it's hard.  But it's worth it.  (Applause.)  It is the right thing to do, and we're going to keep moving forward.  (Applause.)  We are going to keep working to improve the law, just like you did here in Massachusetts.  (Applause.) 

We are just going to keep on working at it.  We're going to grind it out, just like you did here in Massachusetts -- and, by the way, just like we did when the prescription drug program for seniors known as Medicare Part D was passed by a Republican President a decade ago.  That health care law had some early challenges as well.  There were even problems with the website.  (Laughter.)  And Democrats weren’t happy with a lot of the aspects of the law because, in part, it added hundreds of billions of dollars to the deficit, it wasn't paid for -- unlike the Affordable Care Act, which will actually help lower the deficit.  (Applause.) 

But, you know what, once it was the law, everybody pitched in to try to make it work.  Democrats weren’t about to punish millions of seniors just to try to make a point or settle a score.  So Democrats worked with Republicans to make it work.  And I'm proud of Democrats for having done that.  It was the right thing to do.  (Applause.)  Because now, about 90 percent of seniors like what they have.  They've gotten a better deal. 

Both parties working together to get the job done –- that’s what we need in Washington right now.  (Applause.)  That's what we need in Washington right now. 

You know, if Republicans in Congress were as eager to help Americans get covered as some Republican governors have shown themselves to be, we'd make a lot of progress.  I'm not asking them to agree with me on everything, but if they’d work with us like Mitt Romney did, working with Democrats in Massachusetts, or like Ted Kennedy often did with Republicans in Congress, including on the prescription drug bill, we’d be a lot further along.  (Applause.) 

So the point is, we may have political disagreements -- we do, deep ones.  In some cases, we've got fundamentally different visions about where we should take the country.  But the people who elect us to serve, they shouldn’t pay the price for those disagreements.  Most Americans don’t see things through a political lens or an ideological lens.  This debate has never been about right or left.  It’s been about the helplessness that a parent feels when she can’t cover a sick child, or the impossible choices a small business faces between covering his employees or keeping his doors open. 

I want to give you just -- I want to close with an example. A person named Alan Schaeffer, from Prattsburgh, New York, and he's got a story to tell about sacrifice, about giving up his own health care to save the woman he loves.  So Alan wrote to me last week, and he told me his story.

Four years ago, his wife, Jan, who happens to be a nurse, was struck with cancer, and she had to stop working.  And then halfway through her chemo, her employer dropped coverage for both of them.  And Alan is self-employed; he's got an antique business.  So he had to make sure his wife had coverage, obviously, in the middle of cancer treatments, so he went without insurance. 

Now, the great news is, today, Jan is cancer-free.  She's on Medicare, but Alan’s been uninsured ever since.  Until last week -- (applause) -- when he sat down at a computer and -- I'm sure after multiple tries -- (laughter) -- signed up for a new plan under the Affordable Care Act, coverage that can never be taken away if he gets sick.  (Applause.) 

So I just want to read you what he said in this letter.  He says, “I’ve got to tell you I’ve never been so happy to pay a bill in my entire life."  (Laughter.)  "When you don’t have insurance at my age, [it can] really feel like a time bomb waiting to go off.  The sense of relief from knowing I can live out my days longer and healthier, that’s just a tremendous weight off my shoulders.” 

So two days later, Alan goes over to his buddy Bill’s house. He sits Bill down, and his wife, Diana, at their computer.  And after several tries -- (laughter) -- Alan helped lift that weight from their shoulders by helping them to sign up for a new plan also.  And compared to their current plan, it costs less than half as much and covers more. 

See, that's why we committed ourselves to this cause -- for Alan, and Jan; for Bill, Diana. 

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Annie.

THE PRESIDENT:  For Annie.  For anyone who wrote letters, and shared stories, and knocked on doors because they believed what could happen here in Massachusetts could happen all across the country.  (Applause.)  And for them, and for you, we are going to see this through.  (Applause.)  We’re going to see this through.  (Applause.)  We are going to see this through.  (Applause.)  

This hall is home to some of the earliest debates over the nature of our government, the appropriate size, the appropriate role of government.  And those debates continue today, and that’s healthy.  They’re debates about the role of the individual and society, and our rugged individualism, and our sense of self-reliance, our devotion to the kind of freedoms whose first shot rang out not far from here.  But they are also debates tempered by a recognition that we’re all in this together, and that when hardship strikes -- and it could strike any of us at any moment  -- we’re there for one another; and that as a country, we can accomplish great things that we can't accomplish alone.  (Applause.)  We believe that.  We believe that.  (Applause.)         

And those sentiments are expressed in a painting right here in this very hall:  “Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable.”  That’s the value statement Deval was talking about.  That’s what health care reform is about.  That’s what America is about.  We are in this together, and we are going to see it through.  (Applause.)

Thank you.  God bless you.  God bless the United States of America.  (Applause.)