Obama the great truly amazing president. Now upsetting for profit massive health care industry angering many millions of Right Wing, Wall St, Stockholders of Medical Industry players.
TV ads in America running 24/7 saying Americans should not choose free health are like Canada/Australia as quality no good.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-tc-nw-health-care-0713-0714jul14,0,4365589.story
Obama health care plan: President keeps pushing Congress for bill
He may have to get more involved in details of legislation
By Noam N. Levey and Peter Nicholas | Tribune Newspapers
July 14, 2009
WASHINGTON - -- With divisions among congressional Democrats threatening to stall his health care drive, President Barack Obama moved aggressively Monday to steady support, meeting with senior Democratic lawmakers and labor leaders at the White House and amplifying his calls for action.
The president travels Tuesday to economically struggling Michigan, where he is expected again to pound away at the need for sweeping changes to make medical care more affordable and more available.
But events are pushing Obama to a crucial decision -- when and how to plunge more directly into the specifics of the sensitive negotiations.
In particular, he is under mounting pressure to spell out exactly where he stands on two of the most divisive questions confronting lawmakers: How to pay for an overhaul that will cost at least $1 trillion over the next 10 years, and whether the government should create a new insurance program for tens of millions of Americans as an alternative to private coverage.
Thus far, while senior White House officials are meeting regularly with congressional Democrats and interest groups, the president has limited his own role to playing cheerleader -- a role he took up again Monday at the White House after returning from last week's overseas trip.
"I just want to put everybody on notice, because there was a lot of chatter during the week that I was gone. We are going to get this done," Obama said while introducing his choice to be the next surgeon general. "Inaction is not an option. And for those naysayers and cynics who think that this is not going to happen, don't bet against us."
In meetings at the White House, the president pressed senior congressional Democrats to complete work on their health-care bills before their August break, according to Democratic aides.
"The coming weeks are ... a critical time," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Monday.
The president's decision not to spell out exactly what he wants can be frustrating for rank-and-file members of Congress, said Chris Jennings, a senior health care adviser in the Clinton administration who also worked on Capitol Hill for 10 years. "There is always pressure to get more involved," he said.
But he and other experts said there can be more risks to picking sides too early.
"The president can only be used so many times," said Harold Ickes, who was a senior aide to President Bill Clinton. "And they (the White House) have to be careful so that when he really lays down the law or tries to break a deadlock on any particular issue that it's done at the right time. Otherwise he runs the risk of looking impotent."
Still, in addition to divisions among Democrats -- and near-solid Republican opposition -- many leading interest groups that have thus far supported the president have begun voicing concerns about provisions in legislation being written on Capitol Hill.
"We know this is the first inning of a nine-inning game," said Michelle Dimarob, a lobbyist for the National Federation of Independent Business, which helped derail the Clinton administration's health care reform plan. "But we have not seen the things that small businesses need to see."
Obama has indicated his preference for a new government health insurance plan, a cornerstone of how liberals in his party want to achieve universal coverage.
The president has also signaled his opposition to taxing some of the health benefits that Americans currently receive tax-free.
Those messages have been important, said Richard Kirsch, national campaign manager of Health Care for America Now, a liberal coalition that works with other groups. "I think they have been clear about what they want in the plan," he said.
TV ads in America running 24/7 saying Americans should not choose free health are like Canada/Australia as quality no good.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-tc-nw-health-care-0713-0714jul14,0,4365589.story
Obama health care plan: President keeps pushing Congress for bill
He may have to get more involved in details of legislation
By Noam N. Levey and Peter Nicholas | Tribune Newspapers
July 14, 2009
WASHINGTON - -- With divisions among congressional Democrats threatening to stall his health care drive, President Barack Obama moved aggressively Monday to steady support, meeting with senior Democratic lawmakers and labor leaders at the White House and amplifying his calls for action.
The president travels Tuesday to economically struggling Michigan, where he is expected again to pound away at the need for sweeping changes to make medical care more affordable and more available.
But events are pushing Obama to a crucial decision -- when and how to plunge more directly into the specifics of the sensitive negotiations.
In particular, he is under mounting pressure to spell out exactly where he stands on two of the most divisive questions confronting lawmakers: How to pay for an overhaul that will cost at least $1 trillion over the next 10 years, and whether the government should create a new insurance program for tens of millions of Americans as an alternative to private coverage.
Thus far, while senior White House officials are meeting regularly with congressional Democrats and interest groups, the president has limited his own role to playing cheerleader -- a role he took up again Monday at the White House after returning from last week's overseas trip.
"I just want to put everybody on notice, because there was a lot of chatter during the week that I was gone. We are going to get this done," Obama said while introducing his choice to be the next surgeon general. "Inaction is not an option. And for those naysayers and cynics who think that this is not going to happen, don't bet against us."
In meetings at the White House, the president pressed senior congressional Democrats to complete work on their health-care bills before their August break, according to Democratic aides.
"The coming weeks are ... a critical time," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Monday.
The president's decision not to spell out exactly what he wants can be frustrating for rank-and-file members of Congress, said Chris Jennings, a senior health care adviser in the Clinton administration who also worked on Capitol Hill for 10 years. "There is always pressure to get more involved," he said.
But he and other experts said there can be more risks to picking sides too early.
"The president can only be used so many times," said Harold Ickes, who was a senior aide to President Bill Clinton. "And they (the White House) have to be careful so that when he really lays down the law or tries to break a deadlock on any particular issue that it's done at the right time. Otherwise he runs the risk of looking impotent."
Still, in addition to divisions among Democrats -- and near-solid Republican opposition -- many leading interest groups that have thus far supported the president have begun voicing concerns about provisions in legislation being written on Capitol Hill.
"We know this is the first inning of a nine-inning game," said Michelle Dimarob, a lobbyist for the National Federation of Independent Business, which helped derail the Clinton administration's health care reform plan. "But we have not seen the things that small businesses need to see."
Obama has indicated his preference for a new government health insurance plan, a cornerstone of how liberals in his party want to achieve universal coverage.
The president has also signaled his opposition to taxing some of the health benefits that Americans currently receive tax-free.
Those messages have been important, said Richard Kirsch, national campaign manager of Health Care for America Now, a liberal coalition that works with other groups. "I think they have been clear about what they want in the plan," he said.
