WASHINGTON — Former President Barack Obama will be returning to the White House on Tuesday for his first public event there since he left office in 2017.
A White House official said Sunday that Obama will be joining President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to “deliver remarks celebrating the success of the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid in extending affordable health insurance to millions of Americans.”
The event is part of Biden's effort to turn his focus to pocketbook issues that directly affect American households. While job growth has been steady since he took office, inflation is at its worst level in a generation.
The White House said Biden “will take additional action to further strengthen the ACA and save families hundreds of dollars a month on their health care.”
Health Secretary Xavier Becerra and other members of Biden’s Cabinet will attend Tuesday's event.
Obama's visit to the White House was first reported by NBC News.
Perhaps the signature piece of legislation during the Obama administration, most major provisions of the Affordable Health Care Act, colloquially dubbed "Obamacare," went into effect in 2014.
Most notably, the law banned insurers from denying coverage to those with pre-existing conditions, and it mandated individuals purchase insurance. Former President Trump rescinded this mandate in 2017.
Republicans have tried to challenge the constitutionality of the ACA, but courts have repeatedly ruled in favor of most provisions of the legislation, with the Supreme Court most recently upholding the act for the third time in 2021.
