Obama makes health-care pitch in N.Va.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Obama says he wants to cover nearly 50 million uninsured Americans, to persuade doctors to stress quality over quantity of care, and to cut billions of dollars from spending.
Virginia took center stage in the national debate over health-care coverage yesterday when Debby Smith rose to tell her story to President Barack Obama.
"Good afternoon, Mr. President," the 53-year-old resident of Appalachia, in Southwest Virginia, said at the president's health-care forum at Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale.
"I'll try not to cry."
Barely clinging to her composure, Smith explained that she had been diagnosed with kidney cancer in 1998 but could not have her kidney removed because she was the only caregiver for her father, who was dying of colon cancer at the time.
Her tumor was treated with radiation -- all covered by the insurance she had with her employer. But the treatment left her unable to work. And when the tumor returned, she had no health insurance, nor did she qualify for federal disability pay or Medicaid coverage from the state.
"Now I have a new tumor," she said, her voice becoming soft. "I have no way to pay for it. . . .
" I'm just trying to figure out how I'm going to make it nine years until I'm qualified to get my regular Social Security."
The story moved Obama to ask Smith to come forward to the partitioned area where he stood. Then he hugged her.
"I don't want you to feel . . . like you're alone on this," the president told her, saying that he was going to try to find ways to help Smith immediately.
Obama called Smith "Exhibit A" in why the nation's health system needs an overhaul -- one that would include a low-cost "public option" in addition to private insurers, so everyone could have access to care.
Left to their own devices, insurance companies would cover only "the young healthy folks like Mark Warner," Obama said, pointing out the senator, seated in the front row with Gov. Timothy M. Kaine and a who's who of Northern Virginia Democratic legislators.
Obama says he wants to cover nearly 50 million uninsured Americans, to persuade doctors to stress quality over quantity of care, and to cut billions of dollars from spending.
But details on exactly how to do those things generally were lacking in his hour-long town-hall forum before a friendly, handpicked audience in a Washington suburb. The lingering questions underscore the tough negotiations awaiting Congress, the administration and dozens of special-interest groups in the coming months.
Members of Congress will debate the issue when they return Monday from a one-week recess.
Smith is a volunteer for Organizing for America, Obama's political operation within the Democratic National Committee. She obtained her ticket to the event through the White House.
For many in attendance, Smith's story is not unique.
"We've done some wonderful things in Virginia, but we're working at the margins," Kaine told the audience before Obama took the stage. "Because in Virginia and in the nation, one in seven Americans and one in seven Virginians don't have health insurance.
"And those that do have health insurance often find serious difficulties in cost and access and quality."
Virginia Secretary of Health and Human Resources Marilyn B. Tavenner said she frequently sees cases like Smith's. "We're going to see if we can put something together to get her care," she said in an interview after the forum.
During the forum, White House aides selected questions submitted by people on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.
Contact Jim Nolan at (804) 649-6061 or
.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Reader Reactions
whatever happened to people working second and third jobs? Whatever happened to people making sacrifices in their standard of living in order to make financial resources available for items such as health insurance that is important. There are jobs out there (including military) that have great family healthcare benefits. I know th VAs need overhauling but the overall military plan is far better than most private plans.
I wake up at 5:00am every morning and go to work at my second job. I go to primary job at 9:00 and stay to 6:00 or 6:30. I work weekends. I live in a 1450 square foot house in the near westhampton area with 2 small bath rooms and a small kitchen. The bedrooms are small too. But I bought it in 1996 for $90,000.00 I drive a saturn for the past 9 years. Before that I drove a Geo for 10 years.
Now many of my colleagues that are 40 something bought their McMansions for 4 to 5x multiple to what I bought my house. They also have had 4 or 5 vehicles in the same time period that I had my 2 very modest yet functional vehicles.
I have socked away the maximumum 15% in my 401K and contribute to an IRA b/c I know I will not be healthy and young enough to work forever.
I support my immediate family as well as pay the healthcare costs for my aging mother.
I grew up in the 70s and do not understand how people feel entitled to a certain standard of living that so far exceeds the way their parents lived and not have any consequence on the rest of their financial picture. Everyone needs to be self reliant and work hard and make sacrifices. I imagine many of the people whining aqbout healthcare being unaffordable will be whining in the future that they can not afford retirement. I also imagine that some of these whiners have a much higher standard of living than I currently enjoy and work less hours than I do during the week.
I am sorry for rambling but I just am frustrated that people want the government to bail us out when most of us are more than capable of doing the job ourself.
Despite the monopoly premiums, the Massachusetts plan has attained a near universal health program, but now that the healthcare costs in the state are growing much faster than in the rest of U.S. (Massachusetts has the highest annual health plan cost per employee), it may be believed Massachusetts is an object lesson in the dangers of putting health coverage as a fundamental right completely in the hands of for-profit companies, which highlights the necessity of having a publicly financed insurance option.
Some say the capitalism is being challenged, but I think, it might be correct that the monopolies are being defied risking fair competitions and the overall economy.
Please visit http://www.medpagetoday.com/Washington-Watch/Washington-Watch/13437 for further informative infos.
Thank You !
If you move to Mass. they will also give you a car. Big brother knows best.
Is Sarah Palin hiding a “soul mate” in Argentina too? Republicans are dropping like flies. What is going on here?
No debate health care needs reform BIG debate how to do it.I disagree with those who say the only way is a public option.It’s a no=brainer that will soon be the ONLY option and then what.Does anyone think that somehoew this will be the FIRST time the government sets up a program thats run effectively and efficiently.
Like Dave says, look at Social Security and Medicare as they become insolvent.Look at the satisfaction rate of the Massachussets plan . Why would this be any different?
This process needs to move more slowly rather than rushing it thru Congress like the stimulus bill which they didn’t even read.(That’s working out great so far isn’t it.)
Obama is just seeking more control and power.This does need to be fixed but AGAIN it can’t be done in a hurry.
I think, given the fact that health insurance premiums have doubled over the last decade at an unsustainable rate three times faster than wages, the status more than 97% of all Massachusetts residents,the highest in the U.S., are now covered could be touted as success model, which features ‘mandating insurance’ and an option to purchase coverage through the “Connector,“ a program in which private insurers are required to offer coverage to those who can’t get other insurance, regardless of age or health status. But the Massachusetts model has a problem with costs control, because it relies exclusively on private insurers as Massachusetts’ insurers implemented average premium increases of 8% to 12% only in 2008. And it highlights the necessity of having a publicly financed insurance option To be sure, in case the president’s proposal with respect to the strong public option, medical IT, increased efforts in prevention, and a broader array of cost-saving plans including ‘changes to the insurance payment system’ that promote efficiency and beyond adds to the Massachusetts Plan with the provision of employer mandate and an individual mandate & a exchange program, the cost containment does not matter at all. And most importantly, the promising stem cell research is making its way.
Human health, in a sense, may precede all the other basic human rights as everything means nothing for someone without it. As far as my common sense goes, the major role of government will be to protect basic rights of the public from any threat. That is why all of the industrialized countries have public policy in place, I guess. Under this premise, the strong public option needs to be cited as a part of ‘PROTECTION’ like anti-trust law rather than intervention. The intention to introduce the public choice would be to protect the uninsured, economy and keep the medical industry honest, not be to drive it out. Hopefully, the health industry can provide reasonable prices and quality service via tireless innovations like most of the EUROPE, otherwise the potential start-ups will likely fill in the blanks with competitive deals over the long term.
Thanks !
Speaking of automobiles, how has the ‘public plan’ for the auto industry streamlined it over the past 30 years? How will the ‘public plan’ now in place save it despite the fact the government has stepped in to ‘save’ it any number of times since the 70’s? How’s that ‘public plan’ working for AMTRAC? How’s the ‘public plan’ for social security doing? There’s a famous line from ‘Gone With the Wind’ when Scarlette is plotting how to hold on to Tara. Her manservant listens respectfully, and says, ‘wishin’ ain’t gettin’. I wish government could do all the wonderful things it promises, but in the end, it demonstrates it cannot deliver.
hsr..
In a perfect world, what you claim may be possible.. how can private companies compete with an entitiy that isn’t run for profit (which by the way is an excellent motivator for keeping costs low).
However, in practice, the government has a horrible record of not running effectively or efficiently. As an army brat..I can tell you of the substandard practitioners I was subject to. (10 shots of novacaine for one cavity?.)
Take a look at the baseball/govt discussion going on.. Government doesnt run efficiently..government workers have no incentive to run anything effectively.. Red Tape.. poor service..it will be a disaster.
1. The public plan can take advantage of its purchasing power to gain cost reductions for medical services,
pharmaceuticals and durable medical equipment.
2. The public plan can model best care practices.
The public plan will be able to collect and analyze patient information on a large scale to discover the best ways to
improve care.
The information gleaned by the public plan about best practices will be made available to the private plans as they
try to achieve the same or better outputs.
3. The public plan can take advantage of lower administrative overhead.
Medicare’s administrative costs per enrollee are a small fraction of typical private insurance costs (from 1997 to
2006, per-enrollee spending in private insurance grew 59 percent faster than spending in Medicare).
4. The public plan should be open to everyone, and not reserved only for those without insurance. Consumers should
not be limited to the choice of their employers when it comes to their healthcare, and should be able to elect
their employer¡¯s private plan or the public insurance option.
The public plan will provide a choice with a standard, comprehensive package of benefits and a wide choice of
doctors.
5. The public plan should be able to spur use of innovations, such as e-records, medical homes, strengthening home-
based care, and implementing cultural competency programs and translation services.
6. The public plan leads to the much-needed job creation, better economic productivity, and more educational
investments.
7. The public plan can serve as a brake system.
The employer-based system with no other choice and overly high health care prices is comparable to an automobile
without ‘a brake system’ or ‘a safety system’, as the ailing people who need to take some rest are forced to keep
working, which ends up with immense health care costs.
Thank you for reading !
hsr0601: 26% of those covered under the Massachusetts Plan were happy with it. Medicare is threatening to become insolvent like Social Security. You mention ‘new regulations’ as part of the solution, but considering all the regulations in place now it doesn’t seem government oversight is helping much. ‘More’ is not ‘better’. The more complex the system becomes, the higher the expectation that the public will be taken advantage of since they do not have the time or resources to keep up with all the complexity. Given government performance in so many areas, telling the public to ‘trust’ the government to look out for them with regard to interpretation of these complexities is a death wish - proverbially and perhaps even literally.
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