President Obama said Sunday that Russia will remain isolated in the international community if President Vladimir Putin continues to violate international law in Ukraine. (Reuters) <\/p>\n
BRISBANE, Australia President Obama dismissed renewed criticism of his signature health-care law Sunday and disputed an assertion from a former adviser involved in its creation who said the administration had deceived lawmakers. <\/p>\n
Jonathan Gruber, an economist, suggested last year that the legislation passed in part because of the stupidity of the American voter and a lack of transparency in its funding mechanisms. <\/p>\n
I just heard about this, Obama said at a news conference after wrapping up two days of meetings with world leaders here at the Group of 20 summit. The fact that some adviser who never worked on our staff expressed his opinion that I completely disagree with it is no reflection on the actual process that was run. <\/p>\n
It was the first time Obama had weighed in on the comments, which became public after he left Washington for a week-long trip to Asia. <\/p>\n
Gruber is an MIT economics professor and health-care policy expert who was a paid consultant for the Obama administration on the Affordable Care Act. His remarks were captured last year in a video that recently circulated widely on social media, and they have been seized upon by Republicans who want to dismantle the law. Conservatives in both chambers of Congress have said they might call on Gruber to testify on Capitol Hill, a process that would reopen the ugly political fight over a law that has enrolled millions of Americans in new health-care plans. <\/p>\n
We had a year-long debate, Obama told reporters Sunday. Go look back at your stories. One thing we cant say is that we didnt have a lengthy debate over health care in the United States. Every press outlet here should go back and pull up every clip and every story. Its fair to say there is not a provision in the health-care law that was not extensively debated and was not fully transparent. <\/p>\n
Later Sunday, Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell said 100,000 people submitted applications for coverage under the Affordable Care Act on Saturday, the first day of the laws second enrollment period. <\/p>\n
Speaking on NBCs Meet the Press, Burwell said that more than 500,000 people were able to log on to the governments Web site, HealthCare.gov, and that more than 1 million people have been window shopping for insurance options. <\/p>\n
I think the vast majority of people coming to the site were able to get on and do what they had to do, she said. <\/p>\n
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Obama dismisses renewed criticism of health-care law in wake of Gruber video<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" President Obama said Sunday that Russia will remain isolated in the international community if President Vladimir Putin continues to violate international law in Ukraine. (Reuters) BRISBANE, Australia President Obama dismissed renewed criticism of his signature health-care law Sunday and disputed an assertion from a former adviser involved in its creation who said the administration had deceived lawmakers Continue reading