Barack, please tell us how people are going to “just shop around” on a site that will be lucky to be fixed by the end of next month?

BARACK OBAMA: Now, if you had one of these substandard plans before the affordable care act became… and you really liked that plan, you were 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, we said under the law, 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 corset of minimum benefits like maternity care and preventative 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. They can’t do that anymore. If you couldn’t afford coverage because your child had asthma, well, he’s not covered. If you are one of the 45 million Americans with a mental illness, you’re covered. If you’re expecting a baby, you’re covered, 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 what it’s for.