Former President Barack Obama on Tuesday celebrated the Affordable Care Act as its 10th anniversary approaches, saying, “it’s the closest we've ever come to universal coverage in America,” in a new video from the liberal advocacy group Protect Our Care.
"With your help, it's the closest we've ever come to universal coverage in America," Obama said in the video. "There are people alive today because of what you did. There are 135 million Americans whose pre-existing conditions are now protected because of what you did. That's something worth celebrating, but it's also progress worth protecting."
Although the former president has promoted the ACA in multiple videos while in office and since leaving, this video had a more serious tone than the previous ones, with an emphasis on how the Democratic House majority helped save the law.
"You helped protect it with your vote in 2018," Obama said. "But even with a House of Representatives committed to building on the Affordable Care Act, Republicans will keep trying, both in Congress and in the courts, to rip away the care that millions of Americans rely on and to raise costs for millions more."
The Supreme Court announced last week that it will hear a case involving the ACA, which may determine whether the law can remain in effect after Congress essentially removed the individual mandate requirement.
"So even as we celebrate, we commit ourselves to protecting the progress we've made until we finish the job for good with quality affordable coverage for every single American," Obama said.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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