Editorial: The Speech

Presidential addresses to a joint session of Congress are rare events, usually reserved or such occasions as annual “State of the Union” messages, declarations of war, etc.  That made this speech an important event, and a big risk on Obama’s part.  As I sat waiting for the speech to begin, I wondered whether Obama could recover the impetus, taken over by the GOP’s insane attempt to deprive the American people of authentic health care reform through their irresponsible disinformation and astro-turf protests that dominated the August recess.

Obama was introduced eleven minutes late.  He began with a promise not to let-up on the economy until every individual who wants a job can find one, and every business can find the financing it needs to operate.  He claimed that we have pulled our economy back from the brink, and we have.  He said that  he was not elected just to solve crises, but to build a future, and healthcare is central to building that future.  He explained that the uninsured are one illness or accident away from bankruptcy.  Every day, 14,000 Americans lose their coverage because they get sick.  He gave an example of a man who died, because his insurance company cancelled him in the middle of chemotherapy and another example of a woman undergoing treatment or breast cancer who was dropped, because she had not reported a case of acne.  He said that we pay 50% more for our health care than other modern wealthy nations, but do not get better care or it.

He said that he had rejected progressives’ desire for a single payer system and the GOPs’ desire for an end of employer-based healthcare for the same reason.  Both would radically interrupt the insurance that most Americans have now.  Instead, he said, we will build on what works and fix what doesn’t.  He outlined three goals or his plan:

• Security and stability for those that have insurance.
• Access to affordable insurance or those who don’t.
• Slow the growth of healthcare costs.

He said that nothing in his plan will require anyone or their employer to change the insurance or doctor they now have and outlined five features of his plan or those who have insurance:

• Forbid insurance companies to refuse to insure those with preexisting conditions.
• Forbid insurance companies to drop those who are sick.
• Forbid insurance companies to place an annual or lifetime cap on benefits.
• Limit out of pocket charges such as deductable amounts and co-pays.  (Current limits are at 20%.  The GOP proposes to increase that to 35%.)
•   Require insurance companies to cover preventive care.

I fully support all five, but not the Republican proposal.

He outlined the following six features of his plan or those who do not have insurance.

• A new insurance exchange in which individuals and small businesses can purchase insurance together at rates only big corporations get today.
• Tax credits or those who cannot afford insurance, the amount based on need.
• Immediate low-cost catastrophic coverage for those with preexisting conditions resulting in serious illnesses.
• Require individuals to carry at least basic insurance.
• Require large companies too either provide coverage to all their employees or to “chip-in” to pay or the cost of covering the uninsured.
• Exempt individuals who still cannot afford health insurance from the requirement to carry it.

I fully support most of this, especially  the provision that keep companies like Wal-Mart from dumping the cost of covering their thousands of employees on the rest of us.  Here is my one concern.  Are the tax credits or those who cannot afford insurance limited to the amount an individual or family pays in taxes, or can the tax credits exceed that amount?  If the former, many will fall through the cracks.  Although I’ll be in Medicare before 2013, I’ll use myself as an example.  I make so little that I only paid about $600 in federal taxes last year.  If I got that all back, but no more, I still could not afford health insurance and would remain “one illness or accident away from bankruptcy.”  What good is an exemption from the requirement for the poor  to carry insurance if they remain uninsured?

Next Obama covered some of the controversies surrounding his plan:

• There are no death panels. “It’s a lie, plain and simple.”
• It is not true that the plan will cover illegal immigrants.
• No federal dollars will be used to fund abortion.
• The public option is a choice,  not a government takeover of health care.  It will hold insurance companies accountable, not put them out of business.  It would be self-sufficient and rely on premiums collected.  It would make no profit.  It will be just one of the options available through the insurance exchange, so it it would be only for those without insurance.  Nobody would be required to use it.  He said it is just a small part of his plan designed to provide coverage, reduce cost and hedge against insurance company abuse, and that he was open to any other idea that would accomplish the same thing.

I’ll reserve judgment.  If convinced that some other option can accomplish those things as well as a public option, I’d go along.  Until then, I shall continue to demand the public option.

When President Obama said that his plan will not cover illegal immigrants, Rep. Joe Wilson, a Republican from South Carolina angrily pointed his finger and screamed, “YOU LIE!”  At no time in my memory have I heard of a Congressman interrupting a Presidential address in such a despicable  manner.  I remember that when, during a debate on funding for the GOP war or Oil and Conquest in Iraq, a Democrat claimed that GW Bush had lied about WMD, as we all know he did from the Downing Street memos, the GOP went ballistic.  And Bush was not even in the chamber.  I understand that Wilson has called the White House to apologize.  That is not enough.  Wilson should be called before the ethics committee, and at the very least, publically censured.  In addition Rep. Louie Gohmert, a Republican from Texas, held up and waved signs that said “What Bill?” and “What plan?”  I feel disgusted.

Obama said that he will “make sure that no government or insurance company bureaucrat comes between you and your doctor.”

Next, he promised, “I will not sign a bill that adds one penny to the deficit.”  He outlined four ways to pay or his plan:

• Savings from within the health care system.
• Savings from Medicare, but not a penny of the Medicare trust fund.  For Medicare he will eliminate waste and fraud, eliminate insurance company subsidies (Advantage plans that cost taxpayers 15% more, but provide no better care), and close the donut hole.  He said, “I will protect Medicare”.
• Revenue from drug and insurance companies who benefit from this plan through increased sales.
• Reform medical malpractice laws to protect only those doctors and hospitals, who put their patients’ safety first, from frivolous lawsuits. (This drew the only cheer from Republicans.)

There’s nothing here that I cannot support.

Obama pointed out that some think it’s better politics to kill the plan.  He said, “If you misrepresent this plan, I will call you out.”  He should have called out  Joe Wilson and Louie Gohmert on the spot.

Obama revealed a letter from Teddy Kennedy, whose wife Vickie was seated with Michelle Obama.  He said that social justice demands reform and that passage of this plan is a moral imperative.  He said Democrats and Republicans had joined together to pass both Social Security and Medicare.  Unfortunately I cannot agree.  Republicans were just as recalcitrant, but not as offensive, then.  But at least nobody can claim that President Obama has not made every possible attempt to bring Republicans into the process.

Obama ended, with a brief motivational speech, the kind only Obama can give.

For the Republican response the GOP demonstrated their willingness to compromise by choosing a right-wing extremist, Rep. Charles Boustany from Louisiana.  Boustany is a birther.  He is also so stupid that he once fell for a scam in which he tried to buy for Himself the British title of “Lord”.  So in deference to his self view, I shall call him Lord Boustany.  Lord Boustany made a big point that he is a heart surgeon himself.  He lad little of interest to say.  He called for Congress to start over and negotiate a truly bipartisan bill.  The GOP knows that more delay will kill the plan.  He insisted that Obama’s plan is “government run health care”, so Obama had better call him out, because he misrepresented the plan.  The only actual alternative Lord Boustany suggested is to allow consumers to purchase health insurance across state lines, so they could shop for the best deal.  What Lord Boustany is not telling us is why the GOP wants this provision.  The only real regulation of health insurance now occurs at the state level.  If consumers could shop across state lines, all the insurance companies would learn (as if they do not already know) which red state has virtually no regulation and relocate there, allowing them even more abuse than they practice at present.  However, I will give Boustany one thing.  He must be an incredibly accomplished heart surgeon.  Can you imagine the skill it must have required for him to have removed his own heart?

In summary, I’d like to say that Obama’s speech was a good one, but I cannot.  That would fall way short of the mark.  The speech was truly historic.  If you want to read it in its entirety, Click Here.