Calling it a “common sense” improvement of ObamaCare, former Obama advisor and White House press secretary Robert Gibbs recently predicting that the law’s employer mandate will eventually be eliminated.
“I don’t think the employer mandate will go into effect. It’s a small part of the law. I think it will be one of the first things to go,” said Gibbs, speaking at the 2014 Benefits Selling Expo. Gibbs also noted that the mandate has been delayed twice and that most employers with over 100 employees already offer healthcare coverage to employees.
In his hour-long speech — which included questions and answers — Gibbs admitted to questioning whether the individual mandate as part of the law was the way to go; being embarrassed and critical over the “truly horrible” exchange rollout last fall; and cringing when former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi infamously quipped “we have to pass the bill to find out what’s in it.”
While continuing to claim to be a strong supporter of the law, it’s clear from Gibbs’ comments that his view is that ObamaCare is far from an ideal solution for the nation’s healthcare woes. One thing he didn’t address is why the administration didn’t take more time in creating it to have rendered Obamacare perhaps a better solution in the first place.
The implication is that Obama was determined to get it passes, whatever the shortcomings and subsequent consequences.
“We need to have an honest discussion about improving and tweaking the law,” he said.
After all, the law, he reminded the audience, is still in its very beginning stages, “in the first inning” of the game.
“Change hasn’t been easy and it won’t be easy,” Gibbs said. “It will be a long time before we know how this will play out. But the law has real potential to work.”
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