- WHILE I HAVE YOU, I THINK IT'S ONLY FAIR
WE SHOULD TALK ABOUT OBAMACARE,
AND THAT RHYMED.
- WELL, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT ABOUT TWO WEEKS LEFT
TILL MARCH 31ST FOR PEOPLE TO SIGN UP.
IF YOU DON'T HAVE HEALTH INSURANCE RIGHT NOW,
YOU SHOULD GO ON HEALTHCARE.GOV,
AND ESPECIALLY ALL THE MOMS OUT THERE
WHO MAY HAVE YOUNG PEOPLE-- 26, 27--
DON'T HAVE HEALTH INSURANCE
BUT THEY THINK THEY'RE INVINCIBLE
AND NOTHING'S EVER GONNA HAPPEN TO 'EM.
YOU KNOW, WHAT WE'VE SAID IS,
YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT LIFE IS GONNA THROW AT YOU.
YOU CAN AT THIS POINT GET HEALTH INSURANCE
FOR $100 A MONTH OR LESS.
IN SOME CASES, LESS THAN YOUR CELL PHONE BILL
OR YOUR CABLE BILL,
AND IT GIVES YOU SOME FINANCIAL SECURITY.
IT GIVES MOMS SOME MENTAL SECURITY
THAT THEIR KIDS ARE GONNA HAVE DECENT CARE,
AND, YOU KNOW, PARTICULARLY AT THIS MOMENT
WHEN A LOT OF YOUNG PEOPLE AS THEY COME OUT
AND THEY'RE GETTING THEIR FIRST OR SECOND JOBS,
THEY DON'T NECESSARILY GET A BENEFIT ON THE JOB.
NOW'S THE TIME TO TAKE A LOOK AT IT.
BUT THE WEBSITE IS NOW WORKING.
HEALTHCARE.GOV ACTUALLY WORKS THE WAY IT'S SUPPOSED TO,
AND I HOPE THAT PEOPLE TAKE ADVANTAGE,
BECAUSE IF YOU DON'T SIGN UP BEFORE MARCH 31ST,
THEN YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO SIGN UP AGAIN UNTIL NOVEMBER.
AND I WANT TO MAKE SURE
THAT EVERYBODY HAS THIS OPPORTUNITY NOW.
- IT'S DOING VERY, VERY WELL.
I THINK IT'S SURPRISED--
IT HAD A ROUGH START,
BUT YOU'VE GOT 5 MILLION PEOPLE THAT HAVE SIGNED UP SO FAR,
WHICH IS AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF PEOPLE THAT HAVE SIGNED UP,
SO IT'S SUCCESSFUL.
AND WHY IS THERE A DEADLINE?
WHY IS THERE NOT JUST AN OPEN-ENDED--
BECAUSE I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT
FOR EVERYONE TO HAVE HEALTH CARE,
AND A LOT OF PEOPLE THINK, "OH, I'LL BE FINE,"
AND LIKE YOU SAID, YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN.
- WELL, ANYBODY WHO'S GOTTEN HEALTH INSURANCE ON THE JOB,
YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE THIS THING
CALLED AN OPEN ENROLLMENT PERIOD.
BASICALLY THE INSURERS,
THEY'RE PRICING FOR A YEAR,
AND THEN THEY NEED TO FIGURE OUT
HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE SIGNED UP,
WHAT THE RISK POOL LOOKS LIKE,
HOW MANY ELDERLY PEOPLE ARE--
HOW MANY HEALTHY PEOPLE,
HOW MANY YOUNG PEOPLE.
AND THAT'S HOW THEY SET PRICES FOR THE FOLLOWING YEAR,
SO THEY HAVE TO CLOSE THE OPEN ENROLLMENT PERIOD
AT THE END OF MARCH 31ST.
THEY'LL START BACK UP SO YOU CAN SIGN BACK UP
IN 2015 IN NOVEMBER,
BUT IF YOU DON'T HAVE HEALTH INSURANCE RIGHT NOW,
NOW'S THE TIME TO CHECK IT OUT.
AND AS I SAID, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE WILL BE PLEASANTLY SURPRISED.
I'VE GOT A LOT OF FOLKS WHO WRITE ME LETTERS SAYING,
"I DIDN'T VOTE FOR YOU,
"AND I'M PRETTY SKEPTICAL ABOUT OBAMACARE,
"AND I HEARD ABOUT ALL THE PROBLEMS ON THE WEBSITE,
"BUT WHEN I ACTUALLY SIGNED UP,
IT TURNS OUT THAT I'M SAVING 100 BUCKS, 200 BUCKS,"
OR "I'M GETTING HEALTH INSURANCE FOR THE FIRST TIME."
AND SO ALL I'M ENCOURAGING EVERYBODY TO DO IS
TO TAKE A LOOK AND SEE WHAT OPTIONS ARE RIGHT
FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY,
AND MOMS OUT THERE, EMAIL YOUR KIDS
IF THEY DON'T HAVE HEALTH INSURANCE
AND TELL 'EM TO AT LEAST CHECK IT OUT,
BECAUSE THEY MAY BE PLEASANTLY SURPRISED
THAT IT'S MUCH MORE AFFORDABLE THAN PEOPLE THOUGHT.
- PEOPLE WERE STARTING TO APPLAUD HERE.
I THINK EVERYONE'S VERY GRATEFUL THAT YOU DID THIS,
AND I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE TO SIGN UP
AND TO--IT'S JUST BETTER TO BE COVERED.
YOU JUST NEVER KNOW.
AND BEFORE WE GO, FIRST OF ALL,
I APPRECIATE YOUR TIME,
AND I KNOW YOU'RE BUSY,
AND IT'S THE END OF THE DAY
AND YOU'VE GOT TO WALK THE DOGS AND DO THE LAUNDRY,
BUT BEFORE WE GO, I HAVE--
DO YOU WATCH "HOUSE OF CARDS"?
DO YOU WATCH "SCANDAL"?
WHAT ARE YOU THOUGHTS ON THOSE SHOWS?
- YOU KNOW, I WATCH "HOUSE OF CARDS."
I HAVEN'T SEEN "SCANDAL" YET,
BUT MICHELLE HAS WATCHED "SCANDAL."
I HAVE TO TELL YOU, LIFE IN WASHINGTON
IS A LITTLE MORE BORING THAN DISPLAYED ON THE SCREEN.
- I HOPE SO.
- YEAH, YEAH.
YOU KNOW, THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER IS, MOST--
IF YOU FOLLOWED ME, MOST OF MY DAY
IS SITTING IN A ROOM,
LISTENING TO A BUNCH OF FOLKS IN GRAY SUITS
TALKING ABOUT A WHOLE BUNCH OF STUFF
THAT WOULDN'T MAKE VERY GOOD TELEVISION.
- OH.
WELL, THAT'S WHAT I DO,
AND WE MAKE GREAT TELEVISION.
THAT'S WHAT--
[laughter]
- I HAVE TO TELL YOU, THOUGH, ELLEN,
THERE IS NOT MUCH DANCING IN THE SITUATION ROOM,
AS A GENERAL RULE.
- THAT'S WHAT'S MISSING. THAT'S WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO.
- THAT'S THE PROBLEM.
- ALL RIGHT, WHAT ABOUT THAT LET'S MOVE CAMPAIGN?
MAKE PEOPLE DANCE IN THERE.
- [laughs]
- ALL RIGHT, LISTEN, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
YOU SHOULD WATCH "SCANDAL." IT'S REALLY, REALLY GOOD.
AND I'M GLAD TO HEAR--
- THAT'S WHAT MICHELLE TELLS ME.
- IT IS. IT'S GREAT.
AND I'M GONNA CALL MICHELLE AND GIVE HER A GOOD REPORT.
I'LL TELL HER YOU'RE DOING OKAY.
YOU CAN GO TO OUR WEBSITE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT OBAMACARE.
REMEMBER THAT MARCH 31ST IS THE DEADLINE TO ENROLL,
AND WE'LL BE BACK.
MR. PRESIDENT, THANK YOU SO MUCH.
ALWAYS GOOD TALKING TO YOU.
- GREAT TO TALK TO YOU AGAIN. THANKS, ELLEN.
[cheers and applause]