President Barack Obama has been very vocal about his plans for health care reform ever since he took office and in January and the battle to get them passed has become a heated one over the course of the last few weeks. Now it seems that Obama may be willing to drop one of the more controversial aspects of his plan - the public insurance option - to ensure that the rest of his reforms go through.
The "public option" a program that many envisioned as somewhat similar to the Medicare system that is already in place for seniors, has always been an important part of Obama's health care reform plans but it has also been the flash point for anger, opposition and rumor.
The first sign that the President may be willing to back away from the public health care option came when Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told CNN that the public option was "not an essential element" of the President's overhaul plans and that they may consider the idea of a nonprofit health insurance co-op instead, an idea that has been around in the Senate for weeks.
The shift was also confirmed by White House press secretary Robert Gibbs who said the "bottom line" for Mr. Obama was competition and choice.
To back track know may prove to be a significant setback for the president. He campaigned on the issue, gaining votes from the uninsured that saw him as their potential savior. Originally he made the issue a corner stone of his domestic policy and if he does take the public option of the table he may have to face losing the support of several liberal democrats, whose votes and support he does need to get his reforms passed.
On Sunday Senator Jay Rockerfeller spoke of his personal belief in the public option “I believe the inclusion of a strong public plan option in health reform legislation is a must,’’ he said in a statement. “It is the only proven way to guarantee that all consumers have affordable, meaningful, and accountable options available in the health insurance marketplace.’
Former Democratic Party Chairman and one time Presidential candidate Howard Dean argued during an appearance on the Today show that without the public option there will be no real health care reform at all."You can't really do health care reform without it." he told the television audience.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Why Obama Gets Emotional At Latest Town Hall Debate?
Another day, another town and another town hall meeting to try to convince people that his health care reforms will work for everyone. On Saturday President Barack Obama was in Grand Junction, Colorado speaking to yet another group of people who still have questions about his policies and intended reforms.
However one comment from the audience elicited a surprisingly personal reaction from the Commander - in - Chief. The question was about the increasingly contentious and vicious tone that the whole health care debate has been taking in recent weeks. ""I just lost my grandmother last year. I know what it's like to watch somebody you love, who's aging, deteriorate, and have to struggle with that," Obama stated, pausing between words and seeming to struggle to finish his thoughts "What you can't do -- or you can, but you shouldn't -- is start saying things like we want to set up 'death panels' to pull the plug on grandma,". He was referring to rumors and allegations made by opponents that a bill passed a House Committee included the setting up of "death panels" to decide which senior citizens should continue to receive medical treatment.
Obama finished his reply by stating "So the notion that somehow I ran for public office or members of Congress are in this so that they can go around pulling the plug on grandma ... when you start making arguments like that, it's simply dishonest,"
Barack Obama was perhaps closer to his grandmother than many people are. She was very active in raising him after his parents divorced when he was two, as his mother Ann Durham was often traveling in connection with her work as an anthropological field worker.
Ironically Madelyn Payne Durham died after a long illness on November 2nd 2009, just two days before her beloved grandson won his historic victory in the November 4th Presidential election. She was rarely seen during his campaign efforts due to her ill health. She did however get to cast her vote for his presidency, as she voted by mail from her home in Hawaii on October 27th.
The meeting in Grand Junction was the last of a three state tour that the President undertook this week. None of the meetings have been as contentious as some had expected, on the whole they have been fairly civil affairs with audiences appearing to be supportive of the President in general.
However one comment from the audience elicited a surprisingly personal reaction from the Commander - in - Chief. The question was about the increasingly contentious and vicious tone that the whole health care debate has been taking in recent weeks. ""I just lost my grandmother last year. I know what it's like to watch somebody you love, who's aging, deteriorate, and have to struggle with that," Obama stated, pausing between words and seeming to struggle to finish his thoughts "What you can't do -- or you can, but you shouldn't -- is start saying things like we want to set up 'death panels' to pull the plug on grandma,". He was referring to rumors and allegations made by opponents that a bill passed a House Committee included the setting up of "death panels" to decide which senior citizens should continue to receive medical treatment.
Obama finished his reply by stating "So the notion that somehow I ran for public office or members of Congress are in this so that they can go around pulling the plug on grandma ... when you start making arguments like that, it's simply dishonest,"
Barack Obama was perhaps closer to his grandmother than many people are. She was very active in raising him after his parents divorced when he was two, as his mother Ann Durham was often traveling in connection with her work as an anthropological field worker.
Ironically Madelyn Payne Durham died after a long illness on November 2nd 2009, just two days before her beloved grandson won his historic victory in the November 4th Presidential election. She was rarely seen during his campaign efforts due to her ill health. She did however get to cast her vote for his presidency, as she voted by mail from her home in Hawaii on October 27th.
The meeting in Grand Junction was the last of a three state tour that the President undertook this week. None of the meetings have been as contentious as some had expected, on the whole they have been fairly civil affairs with audiences appearing to be supportive of the President in general.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)