Obama turns up the heat for health care overhaul

[March 06, 2010]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- Facing a tough political environment, President Barack Obama on Saturday turned up the heat for the health care overhaul that has been his top priority for a year yet has not been passed by Congress.

The president used his weekly radio and Internet address to attempt to sway a public that has soured on the topic - and especially Democratic lawmakers who are wavering.

Republicans, recognizing the public's mood, are repeating their call to start from scratch on a proposal that would potentially reshape how all Americans receive health care.

"Now, despite all the progress and improvements we've made, Republicans in Congress insist that the only acceptable course on health care is to start over. But you know what? The insurance companies aren't starting over," Obama said in prepared remarks. "I just met with some of them on Thursday, and they couldn't give me a straight answer as to why they keep arbitrarily and massively raising premiums - by as much as 60 percent in states like Illinois. If we do not act, they will continue to do this."

Republicans were not swayed.

"It's not too late: we can, and we must, stop this government takeover of health care," said Rep. Parker Griffith, a first-term congressman from Alabama who switched parties in December and delivered Saturday's Republican message.

The retired physician continued: "Make your voice heard now. America deserves better."

The competing radio addresses underscored the urgency behind Obama's last-ditch push for immediate health care reform. Without a victory - and quickly - Democrats move into a fast-approaching election season without a major, tangible accomplishment that affects voters' pocketbooks. And with a chasm remaining between the two parties, Democrats considered passing the overhaul with votes just from their party.

That process would let the 59 Senate Democrats declare victory with 51 votes instead of a 60-vote supermajority. More importantly, it would allow Obama's team to get back to talking about the economy, which has shed more than a million jobs since the recession began.

Obama is pleading with Democrats to overcome divisions to seize a historic moment to remake the health care system during this election year. The White House wants to pass a health care overhaul and then campaign on it. Voters will pick candidates to serve 34 Senate seats; the entire House is up for re-election.

White House officials hope the immediate changes in the health overhaul would be enough to satisfy voters' expectations - and Democratic lawmakers who were hardly unified in support of the plan.

"The proposal we've put forward would end the worst practices of the insurance industry, lower costs for millions of Americans, and give uninsured individuals and small businesses the same kind of choice of private health insurance that members of Congress get for themselves," Obama said. "And while it will take a few years to fully implement these reforms, there are numerous protections and benefits that would start to take effect this year."

If Democrats pass the plan, voters would find greater consumer protections and a ban on discriminating against customers with previous ailments. Small businesses would receive a tax credit this year, insurance companies would no longer be able to drop patients' coverage if they become sick, and plans would be required to offer free preventive care to customers.

Griffith said leaders of the Democratic Party he left last year were missing the point.

"For them, health care reform has become less about the best reforms and more about what best fits their 'Washington knows best' mentality - less about helping patients and more about scoring political points," he said. "This is no idle observation. I've witnessed it firsthand."

---

On the Net:

Obama address: http://www.whitehouse.gov

GOP address: http://www.youtube.com/republicanconference

[Associated Press; By PHILIP ELLIOTT]

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.