Obama, White House boosting health law at 6 months

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) — President Barack Obama sought today to reintroduce his signature health-care bill to skeptical voters who don't like or understand it six months after it became law.

Just six weeks before midterm elections expected to punish Democrats, the president surrounded himself in a Virginia backyard with people who benefited from the law — a hemophiliac fearful of lifetime coverage limits that will now be eliminated, a senior citizen who got help with her heart medications.

Acknowledging that the economy is the foremost concern, Obama nonetheless insisted, "Health care was one of those issues that we could no longer ignore."

He highlighted some new reforms that take effect at the six-month mark Thursday, including new coverage for preventive care and young adults being able to stay on their parents' health care plans until age 26.