Obama pushes new health care plan
Source: Agencies |
February 23, 2010, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
MAKING a last-ditch effort to save his health care overhaul, United States President Barack Obama yesterday put forward a nearly US$1 trillion, 10-year compromise.
Posted yesterday morning on the White House Website, the plan would provide coverage to more than 31 million Americans now uninsured without adding to the federal deficit. It comes just four days before Obama's one-of-a-kind, televised health care summit with Democrats and Republicans.
Even with the latest changes, it's highly uncertain such an ambitious proposal can get through Congress. Republicans are virtually all opposed, and some Democrats who last year supported sweeping health care changes are having second thoughts ahead of November elections. After a year in pursuit of what was once his top domestic priority, Obama may have to settle for a modest fallback.
Weeks ago, the president and congressional Democrats were on the verge of a historic step - a long-sought remake of the country's health care system after a half-century of unsuccessful attempts by scores of politicians. But in January, Democrats lost a key seat in the Senate that had allowed them to bypass Republican stalling tactics.
Determined to avoid facing voters empty-handed, Obama offered a fresh proposal based on Democratic-passed bills.
The president's plan includes a provision to allow the government to deny or roll back egregious increases that infuriate consumers, an idea bound to resonate with Americans fed up with insurance companies. It also puts Republican lawmakers who oppose the new plan at risk of appearing to favor big business before November congressional elections.
The plan conspicuously omits a government insurance plan sought by liberals and viewed as a non-starter by conservatives and some congressional moderates. It includes Senate-passed restrictions on federal funding for abortion adamantly opposed by abortion foes as well as abortion rights supporters.
Obama, who deferred to Congress on the specifics for more than a year, has finally put forward a detailed plan of his own. By and large, it follows the bill passed by Senate Democrats on Christmas Eve, with changes intended to make it acceptable to their House counterparts.
It would require most Americans to carry health insurance coverage, with federal subsidies to help many afford the premiums. Insurance companies would be barred from denying coverage to people with medical problems or charging them more.
Posted yesterday morning on the White House Website, the plan would provide coverage to more than 31 million Americans now uninsured without adding to the federal deficit. It comes just four days before Obama's one-of-a-kind, televised health care summit with Democrats and Republicans.
Even with the latest changes, it's highly uncertain such an ambitious proposal can get through Congress. Republicans are virtually all opposed, and some Democrats who last year supported sweeping health care changes are having second thoughts ahead of November elections. After a year in pursuit of what was once his top domestic priority, Obama may have to settle for a modest fallback.
Weeks ago, the president and congressional Democrats were on the verge of a historic step - a long-sought remake of the country's health care system after a half-century of unsuccessful attempts by scores of politicians. But in January, Democrats lost a key seat in the Senate that had allowed them to bypass Republican stalling tactics.
Determined to avoid facing voters empty-handed, Obama offered a fresh proposal based on Democratic-passed bills.
The president's plan includes a provision to allow the government to deny or roll back egregious increases that infuriate consumers, an idea bound to resonate with Americans fed up with insurance companies. It also puts Republican lawmakers who oppose the new plan at risk of appearing to favor big business before November congressional elections.
The plan conspicuously omits a government insurance plan sought by liberals and viewed as a non-starter by conservatives and some congressional moderates. It includes Senate-passed restrictions on federal funding for abortion adamantly opposed by abortion foes as well as abortion rights supporters.
Obama, who deferred to Congress on the specifics for more than a year, has finally put forward a detailed plan of his own. By and large, it follows the bill passed by Senate Democrats on Christmas Eve, with changes intended to make it acceptable to their House counterparts.
It would require most Americans to carry health insurance coverage, with federal subsidies to help many afford the premiums. Insurance companies would be barred from denying coverage to people with medical problems or charging them more.
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