Americans can be “played for a sucker” by short-term health care plans, he said.
President Joe Biden didn’t mince words when it comes to his efforts to crack down on short-term health plans, calling them “a scam” and saying they can leave Americans “played for a sucker.”
“You know, in America, it sounds corny, but is fairness something we kind of expect. And I don’t know anybody who likes having been used, having been played for a sucker, taken advantage of. People are ready to meet their responsibilities. But, I think this is a big deal,” Biden said.
He criticized the Trump administration, saying it let the short-term plans grow unchecked.
“The prior administration before me decided to let insurance companies make more money by selling junk plans that are up to three years long, up to three years long. Americans thought they were buying temporary insurance that would provide real coverage in those plans. Instead, many have been saddled with thousands of dollars in medical bills these junk fees don’t cover. And I think it is outrageous,” Biden said.
The effort to save Americans money on junk fees and healthcare costs, Biden said, is “Bidenomics in action.” He also took the opportunity to reference today’s jobs report as another example of the success of his “Bidenomics” plan.
“But today's job shows that I think -- jobs report I think shows Bidenomics is working. We added 200,000, I think 209,000 jobs last month. And all told we’ve created over 13 million [Applause] -- I think it’s 13, 300,000 jobs in 2.5 years, that’s more than any president has created in a four-year term. And folks, the unemployment rate is below 4% for 17 straight months,” Biden said.
“Not since 1960 has that occurred. Inflation continues to fall, less than half of what it was one year ago. And the range of Americans without health insurance is at an all-time low,” he added to applause.
The president also touched on other efforts his administration is undertaking try to help combat high healthcare, like combatting surprise medical bills and looking into medical credit cards and loans that could leave people with medical debt in a worse situation if they don’t understand the terms fully.
