President Obama not only spelled out his views - rather concrete views at that - on how to reform the health care system in his speech to Congress, he got more people on his side , according to the latest polls. He's now emphasizing the moral need to cover more people and aim for universal coverage, and the Republicans remain unmoved.
Obama's proposals would require everyone to obtain health insurance while creating a subsidy those who currently can't afford it. His proposals also include banning insurance companies from refusing to insure people with pre-existing conditions or cancelling their coverage and taxing insurance companies that offer premium plans to wealthier individuals. All of this would costs $90 billion a year over a decade.
But - get this - Obama also wants to see a public option, even though he stopped short of demanding it.
Obama offered a lot of good ideas and a couple of mediocre ones - anything to keep single-payer proposals of the table - but his biggest boost may have come from South Carolina House member Joe Wilson, when the Republican called him a liar right in the middle of the speech. The charge was over Obama's insistence that his plan would not cover illegal immigrants. And even though Wilson apologized, many Republican leaders and right-wing talk radio hosts compounding the disaster by insisting the Wilson was correct about this. He isn't, but he's not as wrong as John Boehner or Sean Hannity will be if they think they've done harm to Obama's efforts to get a health care reform bill passed.
They've only hurt themselves.
Some people must wonder what folks in other countries must think of this lack of decorum. Well, based on the raucous question-and-answer sessions in the British Parliament with the prime minister, the Brits might want to see more of it here!
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