The Virginian-Pilot
©
NEWPORT NEWS
Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama pledged Saturday that he would provide a way for all Americans to have affordable, accessible health care while his Republican opponent would push an "old Washington bait-and-switch" plan that would leave millions uninsured.
During his 39-minute speech, Obama said Sen. John McCain's health care plan is another example of the Republican continuing President Bush's policies.
McCain's health care proposal would use a small tax break to conceal a bigger tax increase, Obama said.
"We don't need someone to dust off some old, stale Bush proposal and call it reform," Obama told the 18,000 people packed into the waterfront Victory Landing Park in southern Newport News. "We need something new."
Ella Bates, 64, was among the thousands who raised a hand when the Illinois senator asked how many people knew any of the 45 million Americans, including 1.2 million Virginians, who don't have health insurance.
Bates said the nation needs a new direction. "I see the need, and I feel the need," she said. "And I want change."
Obama said his plan would forbid insurance companies from refusing to cover pre-existing health conditions. It also would emphasize wellness by requiring insurance companies to cover smoking cessation and weight-loss programs, and it would convert paper medical records to an electronic format.
The plan also calls for the federal government to pay at least part of the treatment for the "most serious illnesses," such as cancer. Obama said such a move would lead to lower premiums.
"If you've worked hard and done everything right," he said, "you shouldn't live in fear of losing everything because of a fluke of genetics or a stroke of bad luck."
Saturday's rally was the latest effort by the Obama campaign to carry Virginia, which hasn't gone for a Democratic presidential candidate since 1964. Obama's running mate, Sen. Joe Biden, had planned to speak in Roanoke and Henrico County today but canceled because of a family illness. Indiana Gov. Evan Bayh has been tapped to fill in.
Shawn Day, (757) 222-5131, shawn.day@pilotonline.com
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Len
No one is saying to maintain the status quo.
The VP itself is nipping at John McCain's plan (funny how they do that in news articles now and not just on the editorial page), saying it puts the rebate money straight back into the insurance companies, which, of course, it does, *because* the families use the money to pay their premiums, as planned.
Wish they would just publish an article on what BO is offering, then another one on what JMC is offering, then let the voters decide for themselves. But the VP seems to have a vested interest in a BO victory, so even the news articles have bias against the R's right now. Cheers, MGM
What's new, mccain is for no regulation at all
Obama's healthcare is indeed not strictly government health care, but for more regulation. While organizations such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Business Roundtable and the National Federation of Independent Business forecast that McCain's free-market approach would impose particular burdens on small businesses and old-line manufacturers that are already struggling, and does very little to reduce the number of uninsured while these businesses want to continue to provide coverage in order to attract and maintain a productive work force, Obama's plan actually leaves room for Republicans in the Senate to get the 60 votes needed to pass.
Interesting barrage after my post
but no one addressed the issue of whether we can continue on the same form of national healthcare we have now. Like it or not, this is our system and it is increasing in cost at over twice the rate of inflation. And, yes, malpractice suits are a small part of the cost, and need to be addressed, but the impact is not nearly what insurance companies would lead you to believe. And, remember, a lot of the malpractice is legitimate and it is the only form of regulatory oversight with teeth that is effective with AMA.
Everyone seems to think that universal healthcare is strictly government healthcare. Many versions, as is the one put forth by Obama, is for private insurers to keep the business in the private sector, but addresses insurability, affordability and access. And if McCain earned his health care, so did I. I spent my entire career contributing to the economy in taxes, work, production of goods and services, and he protected it. He did his job, and I, by contributing to the GDP, which government employees don't do, did mine. Whose is most important? One without the other is pointless.
And, yes, I was in the Navy from 68-72, so I also helped protect.
Overseas drugs . . .
Oh, yeah, those affordable overseas drugs. Can you guess where my friend's sister-in-law travels most from Dow Chemical??? Yes, China, home of the melamine baby formula. We are already buying parts or all components of some of our drugs from there and we are still not able to pay our pharmaceutical bills. I call it greed and, even as an R, I do ask for oversight, vast oversight, of the drug industry, before a lot of us who thought we got chemo turn out to have gotten melamine instead, or our teens start dropping dead of unregulated ritalin and adderal doses in their morning medications. Cheers, MGM
Thank you Len!
"In recent years we have had about 50K people go overseas for major surgery in places like India and Thailand because of cost and quality."
Now we are back on track! Tort reform is the key. Leave it private and get the lawyers out of the doctors hair. A lawyer wil ltell you that they are making the world safer via lawsuits. What you described above removes the patient from the 'safe haven' of the US porported by lawyers to have provided us with. These people are willing to literally risk their lives due ot the cost.
To ignore the fundamental problem and nationalize the healthcare will not fix this. Your example of domestic car makers is the perfect point. We are in a global economy that is not being competitive. No matter who pays for it, it is too much. Quit jumping to a goverment that cannot help to fix this.
COST EFFICIENCY
Prepackaged food loaded with cholesterol and sodium does not help either. Overhead and administrative can be reduced, we need full transparency regarding quality and costs, increase competition in the insurance and drug markets, allow Americans to import safe drugs safely from other countries where medicine are much cheaper so that Americans don't have to flee to Canada or Europe, prevents drug companies from blocking generic drugs, and as in most other countries, forbid insurance companies to discriminate because of pre-existing conditions, and stop the long lines at the emergency room, care that's much more expensive than primary care, and expose lobbyists for what they are by broadcasting negotiations live on C-Span and expose lobbyists for what they are. Just a few items from the Obama plan.
more
Two reasons health care is so expensive in this country. One, because the cost of malpractice insurance is so expensive because we live in a litigious society where people want something for nothing. Two, because those nations with socialized health care systems almost all have government-set prices for medicines, which in many cases are below the actual cost of the meds. The result? The pharmaceutical companies have to charge more for them here to make up the difference. The pharma companies are not blameless (why are they spending billions on advertising?) but they do have to make money to be able to spend it in R&D.
If I end up paying for your health care I should have a say in your lifestyle. No alcohol, cigarettes or cheeseburgers for you. Your poor health choices are costing ME money. If you want to make your own choices pay your own way. That would never fly, of course, as we live in a world where people want a consequence-free society (government bailouts, no zeros for no work, etc).
Yeah len...
and I want a new family sized SUV and a million dollars in the bank. Would you have that redistributed to me as well? And Blindvigilante at least McCain earned his in the military and the past 26 years serving in his state. Obama has spent 3 years as a senator 2 years of that trying to be the next POTS. Scared to death...that was funny being healthcare is the topic of discussion. In socialized medicine the waits can be long. Being healthy is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY! Not the goverments! If you had bad medical problems and bills you could always ask John Edwards for some pro-bono legal help...he made MILLIONS off of suing hospitals and doctors...and at least Al Gores house in Tennessee is keeping the planet warm so you won't catch as many cold or flu bugs...
Ira and the idiotic plan
"Nearly 8 in 10 said they thought it was more important to provide universal access to health insurance than to extend the tax cuts of recent years; 18 percent said the tax cuts were more important." CBS News/NYT Poll March, 2007. In recent years we have had about 50K people go overseas for major surgery in places like India and Thailand because of cost and quality. These are usually self insured business owners. So the path runs both ways. You say we cannot have a quality health care system for all Americans. I am saying we cannot afford not to. The auto industry alone is screaming because they are losing the competitive price edge due to universal systems in foreign countries. The healthcare indices such as survival rates, infant mortality, longevity, hospital mistakes, etc. show the US near the bottom of industrialized countries, yet we are paying double per capita. Are we not smart enough to come up with a more cost effective system? The healthcare system we have is based on overtreatment and denial of claims. Is that what you want to continue with until it becomes beyond your own wallet?
Gov't Paid Healthcare
For the first 23 years of my life I was covered under Gov't run healthcare for the military because I was a dependent. It wasn't perfect, but it was a heck of a lot better than being scared to death all my hopes and dreams would be shattered if I got sick during my last years in college. So, for everyone saying it can't be done well...ask John McCain how his health plan is working for him and has worked for him from his time in the Military until now PAID BY YOU. Being healthy and well is not a privilege for people who can afford it like driving a car or owning a home. Being able to go to a doctor and not have to file for bankruptcy should be a right.