President Obama's Address on Health Care Reform: Time for games has passed

I will not support any plan which increases the taking of innocent human lives by abortion and rations care for the elderly, infirmed and disabled. I was not reassured.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Catholic Online) - President Barack Obama delivered his much anticipated Health care Address to a joint session of Congress Wednesday evening. The speech lasted approximately 48 minutes and was interrupted numerous times by applause, much of which exhibited deeply partisan divisions.

He began by praising the economic efforts of his administration and assuring Americans of an impending economic recovery. He stated emphatically, "I can stand here with confidence and say we have pulled this economy back from the brink." Then, turning to the subject of health care reform, he told those gathered and the millions watching "I am not the first President to take up this cause but I am determined to be the last." He tied our national economic recovery and health care together insisting that our "failure to meet this challenge (health care) has brought us to the brink."

He noted the problems in the current health care system (which most members in the chamber, on both sides of the aisle, agree exist), such as the injustice resulting from the inability to obtain insurance due to prior conditions, the lack of portability in many plans and the unjust loss of coverage suffered by many Americans. He then made a bold claim, "Our health care problem is our deficit problem, and nothing else even comes close."

In the early part of the speech the President appeared ready to propose a kind of middle ground, noting that his detractors "on the left" and "on the right" would not be satisfied with his plan. He said it was time to "build on what works and fix what doesn't" noting there was agreement on about "80%" of the issues. However, he then decried what he called the "scare tactics" of his opponents and the presence of "unyielding ideological camps" which had emerged during the debate. The President asserted "The time for bickering is over... the time for games has passed."

At this point, he set forth his "three goals": providing more stability and security for those with insurance; providing coverage for those who have none; and slowing the growth of health care costs. After noting them he made the claim which has been the subject of so much public skepticism, "if you have insurance...nothing will require you to change what you have." To emphasize the point, he repeated it. Certainly, this claim will be the first area of contention as the speech - and all of the claims it presented - are considered over the coming weeks.

When he moved to what he called the details, he again drew on positions which most members would support. He first addressed those Americans who have insurance. He promised that his plan would make it illegal for Insurance companies to deny coverage because of pre-existing conditions, to drop coverage because someone gets sick, or to arbitrarily cap annual or lifetime benefits for the insured. He promised there would be limits placed on out of pocket expenses and that Insurers would have to cover routine and preventative care.

Next he addressed those Americans who are not insured. He called for an insurance exchange, open to all companies, which would provide inexpensive care. For those who cannot afford it, he proposed the use of tax credits. However, this proposed exchange, and the tax credits to support it, would not be available for four years. Until then, the President endorsed an idea of his former rival for the Presidency whom he acknowledged from the podium, Senator John McCain. The proposal is to provide low cost catastrophic coverage for everyone who is uninsured, right now.

As for those who do not obtain insurance and companies who will not offer it, the speech took a punitive turn. He proposed penalties for anyone who fails to obtain coverage or companies who do not provide it. When he insisted that "95% of small businesses would be exempt" from such penalties and that "there remain significant details to be worked out", there was an audible groan heard in the chamber.

Before he addressed the so called "public option", the President spoke of what he called "bogus claims" from radio and TV hosts and some politicians. He summarily dismissed the idea that there would be "panels of bureaucrats" with the power to deny coverage to seniors. He insisted that illegal immigrants would not be covered under his plan. Finally he insisted there would be "...no Federal dollars... used to fund abortions" and that "Federal conscience laws will stay in place." As to the last claim, the Pro-Life community has already begun to expose the misinformation it contains. As to concern over rationing, recent news from the UK and Canada does not help alleviate them. The "assurances" in his speech will not suffice and must not go unchallenged.

The speech proceeded to the hotly contested issue, the so called "Public Option." It is here where Pro-life Americans are most concerned. Contrary to some earlier speculation he would drop it, he supported a "Public" or "Government" Option. He tried to lessen the impact by proposing that it would be run by a "not for profit" entity. That was apparently to imply that such an approach would cure defects. However, one has only to remember that Planned Parenthood is a not for profit organization. He analogized this approach to the presence of public colleges competing with private colleges. He claimed that the funding for such a "public option" plan would come from premiums and that savings would result from a lower overhead. Without a doubt, this is the area of the President's speech which will draw the most reaction going forward.

As to funding the entire plan, the President made the same kind of bold economic claims he made at the beginning of the speech insisting "I will not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits either now or in the future". Before moving to a dramatic conclusion, he addressed seniors. He insisted that the claims that Health Care Reform would undermine Medicare and Medicaid was "demagoguery" and that he viewed Medicare as a "sacred trust." He also threw a symbolic bone to the proponents of "tort reform", but it had no real meat.

The end of the speech displayed that rhetorical skill which he has demonstrated in the past. He referred to a letter he received from the late Senator Ted Kennedy. It was to be delivered to the President on the Senator's death. Evoking the late Senators love for his family, their struggles with health, and his commitment to the poor (sadly, excluding the poorest of the poor, children in the womb), the President used the letter as a framework from which he gave a call to Americans to rise to the moment and solve the problem of failing to provide health care coverage for all.

He quoted the late Senator who wrote that "what we face is above all a moral issue" which involves "fundamental principles of social justice and the character of our country." This portion of the speech brought tears to several lawmakers. It led to the President's review of past challenges we faced as a nation and our triumph over them. Finally, the President addressed the proper role of Government.

Overall, the speech probably did little to lessen the concern in many quarters over Health Care Reform. As someone who has all along insisted that I will not support any plan which increases the taking of innocent human lives by abortion and rations care for the elderly, the infirmed and the disabled, nothing I heard has reassured me. I hope to be proven wrong. I hope his assertions that the taking of innocent human lives in the womb with federal funds will be explicitly excluded from any Health Care Reform package. Abortion is not Health care! I further hope that those who need care the most will not suffer from what can occur with rationing. After all, as the President so strongly affirmed, the time for games has passed.

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