--- title: Obama: Enough Young Healthcare Enrollees for Program to be Stable description: Enough people have enrolled for insurance in the private exchanges that President Obama thinks the law will be successful. To be financially stable, the exchanges require a sizable number of young, healthy customers to subsidize cheaper plans for the old and the sick canonical: https://time.com/24934/obama-says-healthcare-law-out-of-the-woods/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-03-14T15:14:55.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T06:46:32.480Z article:section: Health og:title: Obama: Enough Young Healthcare Enrollees for Program to be Stable og:description: Enough people have enrolled for insurance in the private exchanges that President Obama thinks the law will be successful. To be financially stable, the exchanges require a sizable number of young, healthy customers to subsidize cheaper plans for the old and the sick og:url: https://time.com/24934/obama-says-healthcare-law-out-of-the-woods/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4ecba99f3f0ea0c3/69868575810bbb18a7c907cf/obama.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1500 og:image:height: 844 og:image:alt: President Barack Obama in Washington, D.C. on March 13, 2014. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Obama: Enough Young Healthcare Enrollees for Program to be Stable twitter:description: Enough people have enrolled for insurance in the private exchanges that President Obama thinks the law will be successful. To be financially stable, the exchanges require a sizable number of young, healthy customers to subsidize cheaper plans for the old and the sick twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4ecba99f3f0ea0c3/69868575810bbb18a7c907cf/obama.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Obama Says Healthcare Law Out of the Woods > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Health Matters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Health Matters is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The latest health news and expert advice on living well. Health Matters makes the fast-moving world of health more useful, surprising and human, from the latest science and medical breakthroughs to practical ideas for living better. 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Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Mar 14, 2014 3:14 PM UTC  President Barack Obama in Washington, D.C. on March 13, 2014. President Barack Obama in Washington, D.C. on March 13, 2014. T.J. Kirkpatrick—Corbis by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Mar 14, 2014 3:14 PM UTC President Barack Obama said Friday that there are enough enrollees in the marketplaces for his signature health care law for the private insurance exchanges to be successful. In an interview with WebMD’s Lisa Zamosky, the President noted that his administration announced this week that 4.2 million people have enrolled in the Affordable Care Act exchanges, saying the figure “is already large enough that I’m confident the program will be stable.” The exchanges require a delicate demographic balance, with enough young and healthy customers to subsidize older, sicker enrollees. Data released by the Department of Health and Human Services this week showed that enrollment by young people has lagged administration targets. Obama also admitted that some Americans may end up having to change their healthcare providers in order to save money under the law, an apparent walk-back from his pledge that “if you like your doctor you can keep your doctor.” “For the average person, many folks who don’t have health insurance initially, they’re going to have to make some choices,” Obama said. “They might end up having to switch doctors, in part because they’re saving money. But that’s true if your employer suddenly decides that we think this network is going to give a better deal.” Obama also defended the law from criticism that it is raising employer-provided coverage premiums, saying premiums were rising well before the law was passed. He added that the law is helping to slow the pace of growth. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/24934/obama-says-healthcare-law-out-of-the-woods/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/24934/obama-says-healthcare-law-out-of-the-woods/"},"headline":"Obama Says Healthcare Law Out of the Woods","datePublished":"2014-03-14T15:14:55.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T06:46:32.480Z","description":"Enough people have enrolled for insurance in the private exchanges that President Obama thinks the law will be successful. 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