Obama returns to Bristol to talk about health care

AUDIO INTERVIEW

President Obama takes questions from the editors of the Bristol Herald Courier (MP3 format)

BRISTOL—President Barack Obama made his case for health-care reform to a small audience at a Kroger supermarket yesterday, continuing a “conversation about change” he started in Bristol just over a year ago.

“This is the first town that I visited in the general election,“ Obama told the audience, mostly Kroger employees and executives.

“In my mind, at least, this is where change began, and that’s why I’ve come back—to talk to you about how we’re going to deliver on that promise of change.“

As Obama spoke, legislators in Washington negotiated details in several competing health-care reform packages.

Obama has brought his push for a health-care overhaul to Virginia this week amid charges from opponents that his plan would increase health-care costs rather than lower them. First lady Michelle Obama spoke Monday at the opening of a Caroline County health clinic that was built with federal stimulus money.

The Associated Press reported that more than 200 protesters showed up in Bristol to oppose the president’s health-care reform effort. Some held signs reading, “Obamacare is political malpractice” and, “Keep your hands off my health care.“

Obama praises Kroger, defends policies

Obama praised Kroger officials for their efforts in providing insurance to 80 percent of the company’s employees.

The president also defended his economic policies, pushed back against what he called “misinformation” about his health-care plan, and sought to assuage the fears of residents satisfied with their insurance who are concerned about losing it.

The current system, he argued, fails to make insurance accessible to the poor and to those with pre-existing conditions. It often is not a good financial deal for those who are insured. And the rising cost of health care hampers business expansion and threatens to tank the economy.

Obama also promised consumer protections by stopping insurance companies from limiting coverage during a year or a lifetime, while placing a cap on an individual’s out-of-pocket expenses.

“No one in America should go broke because they’re sick,“ he said. And under his plan, insurance companies “will no longer be able to drop coverage for someone seriously ill.“

Obama’s plan: pool health care customers to drive down costs

Obama is proposing a plan that would look like a kind of health-care shopping market, leaving individuals to pick their own policy and providing a subsidy to low-income shoppers to help them pay the premium. As part of a big pool of customers, “you have negotiating power to drive down those costs so you can afford health care,“ Obama said.

Among the offerings is a “public option” that is both controversial and key to Obama’s strategy for making insurance more affordable. The option, a not-for-profit government plan, is designed to “keep insurance companies honest” by offering lower premiums, Obama said. If private rates are too high, then insurers stand to lose customers to the government.

The president also sought to dispel the criticism that his administration wants to take over the health-care system.

“No one is talking about a government takeover of health care,“ Obama said, referring to demonstrators’ signs outside that argued the contrary. “If you’re happy with your health care, you can keep it. If you’re happy with your doctor, we’re not going to force you to change,“ he said.

Not all accept Obama’s proposal

Some still are levying the government-takeover charge.

“We don’t need this government-run health care,“ former Virginia Attorney General Jerry W. Kilgore said in a telephone conference. Kilgore also blasted the president for holding a “closed meeting” at what he called the region’s only unionized grocery chain.

Some local business owners also expressed frustration at the complexity of the plan and the few hard details that have materialized.

“‘Really confusing’ I guess is the key word,“ said Lloyd Sproles, owner of Twin City Welding, who was not at the town-hall meeting yesterday.

Obama said the status quo is no solution to improving access to coverage and controlling costs.

“If we do nothing, I can guarantee you the premiums will double, people will lose coverage, business profits will be strained and they will hire fewer people,“ he said, “and the federal budget is going to blow up.“