Obama Says Martin Luther King Jr. Would Like ObamaCare

Martin Luther King Jr. Would Like Obamacare, Obama Says (CBS News)

Ahead of the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, President Obama said that Martin Luther King, Jr. would like his signature law, the Affordable Care Act.

"I think he understood that health care, health security is not a privilege, it's something that in a country as wealthy as ours, everybody should have access to," Mr. Obama said in an radio interview with the "Tom Joyner Morning Show" that aired Tuesday. "And starting on October 1, because of the Affordable Care Act -- Obamacare -- anybody who doesn't have health insurance in this country is going to be able to get it at an affordable rate."

On October 1, open enrollment is slated to begin for the new, state-based health insurance exchanges. The exchanges are online marketplaces where consumers will be able to purchase private health insurance plans, with coverage beginning in 2014. The administration and state officials are currently engaged in outreach campaigns to encourage people -- especially young, healthy people -- to join the exchanges.

The law, however, still faces strong opposition. Some of its biggest opponents in Congress, including Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Ted Cruz, R-Texas, are participating in a tea party "Exempt America from Obamacare" rally in Washington next month.