Though President Barack Obama enrolled in the Obamacare exchange to “lead by example,” as one senior aid was quoted as saying, the president did not log on to the troubled Healthcare.gov website. Instead, he had White House staff enroll for him in the Washington, D.C. exchange over the weekend while he vacationed in Hawaii.
President Barack Obama greets members of the military on the tarmac as he arrives with the first family on Air Force One at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, in Honolulu, Friday, Dec. 20, 2013. The first family will be spending their annual winter vacation in Hawaii and return to Washington on Jan. 5, 2014. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster
“Like some Americans, the complicated nature of the president’s case required an in-person sign-up,” an anonymous administration according to The Washington Post.
In a near concession of security risks for the website, the official said, “As you’d expect, the president’s personal information is not readily available in the variety of government databases HealthCare.gov uses to verify identities.”
The president already has military health coverage and immediate physicians ready to provide care. He chose the "Bronze" plan on the Washington, D.C. health care exchange, the cheapest plan available, and did not enroll members of his family.
The Post reported the official said Obama would paying less than $400 per month in premiums.
However, TheBlaze found on DCHealthLink.com, the exchange for Washington, D.C., that 52-year old man earning $400,000 per year would pay on average $424 per month for a Bronze plan, $466 per month for a Silver plan and $581 per month for a Gold plan.
The White House did not respond to inquiries from TheBlaze for this story.
Every Obamacare plan -- even the Bronze plan -- must cover essential services. This includes hospitalization, maternity care, mental health and substance abuse treatment, preventative services, emergency services and hospitalization.
Thought Obama will likely never use this insurance, he had vowed to enroll in the product of his signature legislative achievement anyway.
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