White House Offers RX for Gun Problem: ObamaCare

JOSH EARNEST: “I guess, the one of the things that I do want to mention is that, you know, we have heard other presidential candidates sort of indicate what they claim to be is an openness to working with the administration to try to prevent other acts of gun violence. Many of them talk about the need for better mental health treatment and better mental health care for those individuals who need it. 

One way that one particular program that has been particularly effective in expanding access to mental health care across the country is the Affordable Care Act. So voting more than 50 times to repeal a piece of legislation that has done more to expand mental health care across the country is certainly not keeping with their commitment to want to actually address this significant problem. 

One of the biggest providers of mental health care, particularly in disadvantaged communities is Medicaid, and we’ve seen a number of Republicans including Republican governors and Republican state legislators resist the effort to expand Medicaid which would actually expand substantially mental health care coverage to millions of Americans. 

So for those who say that they want to work with the administration in at least one area when it comes to limiting acts of gun violence, we would welcome their contribution and their support for implementing the Affordable Care Act and expanding Medicaid.”