His brave words in his first State of the Union Address notwithstanding, President Barack Obama seems to remain clueless on the healthcare front.
After focussing on the none too happy state of the economy for about half an hour, he turned to healthcare a major plank of his election campaign and said, By the time Im finished speaking tonight, more Americans will have lost their health insurance. Millions will lose it this year. Our deficit will grow. Premiums will go up. Patients will be denied the care they need. Small-business owners will continue to drop coverage altogether. I will not walk away from these Americans, and neither should the people in this chamber.
Thats all fine, but how will he fix the stalemate? All that he would say was, As temperatures cool, I want everyone to take another look at the plan weve proposed, adding that many of the proposals were an improvement of the current healthcare system.
But if anyone from either party has a better approach that will bring down premiums, bring down the deficit, cover the uninsured, strengthen Medicare for seniors, and stop insurance company abuses, let me know, the president insisted.
Finally there was a desperate plea. Heres what I ask of Congress, though: Do not walk away from reform. Not now. Not when we are so close. Let us find a way to come together and finish the job for the American people.