Please view Obama's speech before Congress (it's lengthy -- give yourself some time) and spend time discussing his views for reform and your own opinion on the matter. I expect you to know what Obama's views are as well as your own.
Remember that this is in place of a great deal of daily reading of the newspaper -- I expect you to take your time, be thoughtful and be rigorous. If the first person to respond does not go into the depth required, do not make the mistake of following in their footsteps. Please carve your own road here. Write your own response first and then make sure you comment on another's.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/09/10/us/politics/20090910-obama-health.html#
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President Obama's congressional speech on healthcare is meant to both motivate a nation in need of inspiration and inform the country of the administration's attempts to solve what the late Ted Kennedy himself called "that great unfinished business of our society." The president's opening statements set the context in a time of American history that will in future generations be viewed upon as one of the worst economic states of the country to date. It imbues a sense of determination into the following propositions and claims. This speech contains some of the very first in-depth ideas contained within his healthcare reform bill. The most fundamental concept which is building upon the current dilapidated state of healthcare rather than issuing an entirely new alternative. This immediately eradicates the concept of erasing the current system and replacing it with either the Canadian "nationwide health insurance" or eliminating the employer-based system and installing an individually purchased healthcare plan. Both ideas would be too radical a shift from the current system and would require severe manipulations in the daily lives of American citizens. Instead, Obama's plan is simply to provide sturdier more reliable insurance to everyone, even those currently uninsured, whilst maintaing reasonable prices. With this idea in hand, the bill proposes the formation of an optional non-profit healthcare institution, the elimination of insurance refusal based on pre-existing conditions, and instilling a sense of competition within the insurance companies in order to provoke higher quality provisions. The emotion of the speech entrances the audience from start to end,however two parts in specific grasped my attention. The first being the unimaginably rude interruption of Senator Joe Wilson. This outburst was so inexplicably obscene that I could not personally imagine the embarrassment it must have evoked from his Republican colleagues. The second personally emotional section was when he mentions the state of Medicare in the US. Being the grandson of two loving grandparents that travel from out of the country to receive the medical attention provided by Medicare, I could not imagine our country without it. This government program has lengthened the lives of my grandparents and those of many other young citizens. For this reason i find his determination to maintain its existence both powerful and obligatory.
ReplyDeletePresident Obama’s healthcare reforms seem to be a great alternative to the ailing, and continuously failing healthcare program we are faced with today. His ultimate goal is to sustain and make sure that every American can and will be provided with security and stability. Security and stability is definately far from what our healthcare provides today. Obama repeats his 3 main goals throughout his speech wanting to ensure our security and stability, provide insurance for those who do not have any nor can afford, and to keep the growth of heath care costs for families, businesses, government and at a steady and slow rate. Obama supports these arguments with details such as that nothing in the plan that he will be providing will require the people to change what they have but rather to alter it. Obama states that it will be against the law for insurance companies to drop someone’s coverage when they get sick or when you need it the most. If you think about this, the moral thing to do, is let this person live no matter WHAT the insurance situation is. Ther would also not be a cap in how much someone would receive in a given year of lifetime and Obama firmly explains that no one will go broke when they are sick. Also, all Americans who can afford health insurance would be required to get it. His point he got across was that everyone would have to do their part or this system will end up failing. I believe that his healthcare reform system is a great idea and it will help improve this slump that America is in. My only concern is his support and if he can carry all this out. He is under no illusion that he will wont be getting a lot of Republican support. On the other hand he is on the way to getting support by the way he took parts of his speech and revered Mccain’s inputs, Clinton’s inputs, and took bits and pieces from everybody.
ReplyDeleteEsther Lee
I am on the same page with Adel emotionally about grandparents. . Its natural for people to age, and also natural for people to get sick, and there's nothing we can do about it if medicine prices are skyrocketing and grandparents going into retirement. Although they recieve money, the medications they need forces too many seniors to pay thousands and thousands of dollars just for that. But Obama's healthcare reform will get rid of that gap and all that money that grandparents would have to pay.
ReplyDeleteEsther Lee
President Obama's health care reform speech appears to be a beneficial alternative to the prior ways of dealing with health care. In his speech Obama outlined what he wants Congress to include in a health reform bill. His reform thinks about the country as a whole, not just benefiting one group: uninsured, middle-class Americans, and others. For almost a century, presidents and members of Congress have attempted and failed to provide universal health benefits to Americans. The cost of health care has increased, in 2008, one out of six dollars was spent on health care, and 46 million people were without coverage. Obama looks to be the last President to take up this cause. Although this may be true, I would like to point out my problems with the way Obama hopes to pay for the huge and costly health reform package that he believes will cover all Americans. It is true that if the prevention strategies we are talking about are behavioral things like to eat better, then they cost very little and they do save money by keeping people healthy. But if the preventive strategy is medical, for example, finding medical conditions early, it seems that more often than not you wouldn't save anything and you might generate more medical costs. President Obama reminded Congress and the public of the goals of health reform, which have often gotten lost in this debate. These goals are to ensure the stability and security of coverage for those who have it, to provide insurance for those who don’t, and to slow the rise in health care costs for families, businesses, and government. At the same time three things stood out to me. First, he is not backing away from coverage for all. He would require everyone to purchase coverage, and he would commit the $900 billion in federal funds necessary to make coverage reasonably priced and set a limit on expenses, as well as assist small businesses in providing coverage to workers. Second, the president laid out a very moderate position. Reform will build on what works, and fix what doesn’t. He indicated that a public plan would provide competition and an affordable choice for the uninsured. He indicated that he is open to ideas like limiting the public option to markets where insurance companies are not providing affordable policies. Third, he made it clear he is committed to economic responsibility. He outlined how he would pay for coverage — both fees on insurers and savings from Medicare and Medicaid. I too believe similarly to Obama that we did not come to fear to future we came here to shape it, and this health care reform can shape it.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with Esther that letting a person live is better than not allowing them to get treatment because of their insurance. In his speech Obama described the story where the woman has breast cancer and her insurance company canceled her policy because she forgot to declare a case of acne, letting the cancer grow twice the size. Many situations like this could have been prevented if insurance companies did not just let go of their costumers. Therefore Obama's Health Care Reform, announces this problem and describes a way to fix this problem, which will hopefully take care of insurance problems.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Obama's plan to "build what works and fix later" versus building a whole new system. It seems much more organized. On the other hand, I believe his plan tneeds some fixing up immediately, not later. He has great ideals and expresses an attempt toward bipartisanship: provide security and stability of those who have health insurance, offer a "public option," mandate all (but small) businesses to supply health insurance for their workers, limit medical expenses, not to insure illegal immigrants, no federal contributions toward abortion, to protect medicare, to reduce wasted pay and revenues, and to eliminate subsidies and profits to companies that do not improve the care of seniors. The health topic of the uninsured is very personal to me. My Uncle, who is out of work, and now uninsured and found out last week he has stage-3 cancer, and cannot receive aid. He would personally have to pay for his own for all of his chemotherapy And, like Obama said, it is unfair for anyone to go broke from being sick. A big disappointment lately was that he, and American-born citizen, has found that illegal immigrants were getting better treatment in clinics than he was receiving. Because of this, I was happy to hear that illegal immigrants would not get insurance coverage. I definately think Obama is on the right track, but I am still skeptical on a point he made. He said that this would cost $900 billion dollars, but would not add money to our deficit. How would that work? I would like him to expand on the long-term effects before any action takes place.
ReplyDeleteJason M., Period 3
Dr. Rockenbach
I definately agree with Adel and Esther. This is the first time where the public is finally learning some specifics and logistics of the bill. I, too, think it is obscene for a medical insurance company to stop providing coverage when an illness progresses amongst seniors. Just like Obama blatantly said, this is America. And that is just morally wrong. It is about time someone addresses and threatens profiteering insurance companies to ironically treat their patients like people, not statistics and the relation to a profit!
ReplyDeleteJason M., Period 3
Dr. Rockenbach
President Obama’s health care reform aims to provide Americans with more “security and stability” by creating new requirements for both Americans and insurance companies, and also offer alternatives to the high priced insurance offered today. Instead of creating a totally new healthcare system that would interfere with existing healthcare plans and people’s lives, Obama is proposing that we just “fix what isn’t working” and keep what is. This is a good way to approach this problem because both the insurance companies and people receiving health care insurance would be bothered by the need to rearrange their whole healthcare coverage. What Obama is proposing for the first part of the reform restricts the amount of freedom that insurance companies have in controlling other people’s lives. I totally agree with what Obama is trying to do in limiting pocket expenses, not dropping people’s coverage when they are sick, and not limiting the amount of coverage one can have for a year. These ideas are meant to move the American health system forward and into the present-day situation where America shows to have the most outdated system out of all modern and capable countries. In the second part of the reform, Obama proposes new ideas and systems in which Americans can more easily acquire health insurance, which is a requirement in this reform. An easier way to get the best price possible for health insurance would be through the new insurance exchange, where people can shop for insurance at competitive prices. This provides people with a choice if they cannot afford coverage. Though this is met by opposition since the government would help regulate the prices through a public insurance company (but is fully self-sufficient) I believe it is a good idea because right now, since the insurance companies just keep raising prices every year because of the lack of competition, the prices are getting too high and Americans are not even getting their full money’s worth since a lot of the price goes to profits and paychecks. With the government helping to regulate the price insurance will become more affordable and people will get more out of their money since the government is not going to profit from this company. This newly proposed reform can only work if everyone gets involved and has insurance, otherwise their medical care is paid for by money is coming out of other people’s pockets and bringing prices up. This is why people are going to be required to halve health insurance and large businesses will have to provide the healthcare or at least help relieve workers of the financial burden paying for their own health insurance will put on them. I agree with this also because as a nation I believe we should be united and working towards a common good for people. This can be achieved with a lower price for insurance so all can have it, but in order to achieve this I believe that it is important to have everyone involved. I think this reform would be an very large step towards becoming a healthier country, literally and metaphorically. More Americans receiving health care would mean more people getting the treatment they need, and economically people will not struggle as much with prices if everyone follows through with the required aspects of this proposition.
ReplyDelete-Kirstin Cook
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ReplyDeleteNot meaning to jump on the bandwagon, but I agree with Jason's expression of the crazy things insurance companies have done to sick people who need medical attention. President Obama talked about a man who died because he stopped receiving necessary treatment for his cancer because he was dropped from his insurance company. This unjustness of companies who do not care about the welfare of people and only how much money they can pocket needs to end, and I believe this reform is a huge step towards the beginning of a more fair healthcare system.
ReplyDelete-Kirstin Cook
To tell you the truth, it wasn't until I heard Obama's speech that I understood at least another perspective on health care reform. This summer, on Showtime, I saw Sicko, Michael Moore's documentary on health care. It was a Michael Moore movie so, admittedly, I was expected to be entertained. This movie did hit certain points which made me want to be more informed on this issue, but it was summer, and I was lazy. Certain moments in the movie that were a bit painful to watch was seeing a patient being cast out of a hospital. I don't remember quite well enough exactly why: couldn't afford being in the operating room, I think that's what it was. The account of a family who had to suffer a family member's death due to a conflict with certain privileges available only to certain kinds of health insurance. You can't fake those tears. The most heartbreaking moment was at the end of the film when Michael garnered up a group of people, suffering from diseases and conditions, who were denied or not given the support they needed, and sailed across international waters to receive care in Cuba. However, Sicko was made in 2007 and now it's 2009. It seems a bit ridiculous that two years have gone by and there haven't been significant changes in health care just yet. There are some distinct differences between Obama's plan and Moore's desire. Moore wanted all health insurance agencies to close, same as in England, France, and Canada but I kind of agree with Obama; that kind of radical reform wouldn't pan out in America quite so easily although I think if everyone(impossible, I know) found the benefits to that kind of reform instead of claiming it as socialism, or as tyrannical, it would benefit us all. The prices for any medicinal drug in England(or was it France?) was ridiculous; how can anyone refute with those kind of prices? Obama's plan, although he said it's only the first part, sounded complete as it was and anyone can imagine the difficulty it must've taken him and his administration to come up with such a complex plan. what I believe, not firmly but even so, is that no one should be left out when it comes to health, no one must suffer the inadvertent consequences if it's out of their control but not in the ones who are in charge of it in the first place. It's simply ridiculous to believe that anyone will actually try to take advantage of people's health for money and what Obama's plan calls for is immediate action against this kind of corruption. The plan has passed since his speech(or maybe a version of it) so let's see if America will finally be taken care of this issue in the months to come(probably not, but let's hope yes).
ReplyDelete-Arlill Rodriguez
Obama does a great job in this speech of giving hope to people who are uninsured and truly prove that while he is in office, he will do what he can to aid more and increase the level of healthcare which many Americans are already receiving. I completely agree that it would be impossible to start from scratch and build up a new plan for giving healthcare to the most people in the most efficient fashion. He makes it very appealing when he says that he will allow the people who have healthcare to continue enjoying this priveledge, but at the same time he will even improve the degree of care felt by these people and he will provide opportunity for healthcare to people who previously have not had it. Obama's plan outlaws things that should be outlaw such as losing your coverage when you need it the most. This will force a lot of healthcare to act less with the goal of purely money and it will force them to choose people they cover more humanely. It will make health care companies have real reasons to drop a client, rather than dropping them because it would cost the company a lot to cover them. This plan effectively changes the goal from gaining the most money to saving the most lives. With this mentality we can run a better country and have the general population feel much safer and in turn they will be much happier, making other aspects of the government less dificult. The creation of the new "insurance exchange" would allow people who previously could not afford coverage, to afford it. In allowing more people to have coverage we can help start create a better society. I also like that Obama makes it real when he understands that even after all of these reforms, not everyone will take advantage of health insurance and this creates many problems for others, but with the new options it will largely increase the number of insured people in America which will in turn take the stress off of the people being forced to pick up the tabs for uninsured people.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I believe that everyone should be entitled to health care because we have such a wealthy elite and it is truly unfair to let our fellow citizens deal with such hardships when many of us could so easily help them out. With some of these reforms, I feel even raising the wealthier peoples taxes would be worth having health care for the rest of the country. Many people are too greedy to realize the issues they are letting go unnoticed and that's just wrong and I feel it's time for some sort of change in the way we are doing things. Obama puts it nicely and I hope to see some change very soon.
Jason, I feel bad that you're experiencing what you are with your uncle because it is COMPLETELY unfair that when problems arise, health care businesses drop customers. This is completely inhumane and I hope Obama successfully finds a way to stop the greed in a business where humanity should be the main goal. I hope there is some insentive that can be associated with giving health care in order that even the people in the hardest of times can receive health care and I think obama is truly working very hard at finding this solution. Hopefully the change will come soon because I firmly believe our country will be a much better place when more people are taken care of.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Arlill, and although the media sometimes feels the need to manipulate issues to their favor (especially people like Michael Moore), I believe that healthcare is one of those issues whose true effect on society cannot be feigned. I agree entirely in that no one should be subject to the ill effects of what is out of one's hands. To see insurance companies take advantage of this is a disgusting sight and is the main reason we need reform in our current system.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with Will on Obama's speech; I felt that Obama was sure on almost every word he said in his speech, that he was confident in tackling this issue as realistically as he can. But skeptics can't help but question some of Obama's plan and whether or not it really will be effective; not everyone stood up and applauded during his speech.
ReplyDelete-Arlill Rodriguez
In Obama’s Health Care Address to Congress, the president addresses the loss of health care coverage. He proposed a bill that would apparently combine ideas from both the Republican and Democratic parties. This bill will try to take the good ideas from previous plans and combine them. Maybe it is my naive high-schooler mindset thinking this, but his general goal and plan of action seems very smart and appropriate. In this plan, he is set on not changing anything if you have health insurance. For those who don’t, he will set up a new insurance marketplace where you can shop and bargain with competing health care providers for the best deal. This seems like a good idea because not only would people be able to get inexpensive health care insurance, it will also make the companies happy because they are getting (probably) millions of new customers. If you still can’t afford it, they will provide tax credits, the amount varying for your individual needs. The part of Obama's plan that has the most sentimental value for me would be the part of the plan that says that an insurance company cannot drop you because of a preexisting condition, or set a limit on how much money they can spend on you. After her health insurance company decided that they had exceeded the amount of money they could spend on my aunt to remove her breast cancer, they stopped paying for post treatment. Her health insurance company would not pay for the MRI to make sure that the cancer was completely gone. While my aunt is luckier than the people whose health insurance companies would not even pay to remove their cancer, preventative care and post treatment is just as important. Obama addressed this directly by saying that a health insurance companies have to pay for routine checkups and preventative care that could've possibly paid for my aunt's mammogram, catching the cancer before it spread. Even though his plan is set to begin in 4 years and cost about $900 billion, lowering the costs of health insurance will be reduced immediately. His plan of action is necessary, thought out, and most of all it will help millions of American’s.
ReplyDeletePresident Obama's speech to congress regarding health care was a thoughtful, well delivered speech proposing effective, yet simple ideas. As always, Obama's speech demonstrated the power of simple facts tied in eloquently with powerful emotion. His proposal was simple: improve the stability and securtity of health care for those who already have it, give affordable care to those who dont, and keep the cost of the plan from adding to our national debt. His ideas to accomplish all of these are straightforward, and appeal both to Democrats as well and Republicans, the right and the left. Although many ideas were proposed by his fellow Democrats, Obama does a very good job in pleasing both sides in incorporating ideas from his opposition as well, even adding ideas expressed by Sen. John McCain in the election. One of his ideas that i perticularly like is how insurance companies will now have incentivce to create the best comprehensive plans for people, who will be allowed to shop for the best health insurance. This will keep the companies honest, eliminate the possibility of monopolization, and provide quality health care for the consumers. Obama's proposal ontop of providing healthcare for all of our country will also eliminate our national debt. According to his speech (and i know no better) there are hundreds of millions of dollars in waste, fraud, and abuse of medicare. His proposed team of expert medical professionals will be able to identify this money and be able to not only pay for the entirety of the plan, but also cut into our national debt. One of the most surprising things i learned about this pre-existing health care in this country were the two individual cases brought up in the speech about the man with gallstones he didn't know about and the woman with acne. These two people were denied immediate medical action because the insurance companies dropped their coverage because of certain conditions. Because of this selfish, greedy maneuver, the man died and the woman's breast cancer grew to twice the size it was originally. Obama's plan will prevent the greed of insurance compaines from ruining people's life's and endangering the their health. On the surface, I think this plan is wonderful, but i am also concerned because I know that i do not know enough about the specifics of the plan that it almost seems too good to be true. I would love to explore the topic further and find out how beneficial it really would be.
ReplyDeleteDavid Kinrich
I think that Obama took an interesting approach in proposing this bill. He took the right and left wing views and mixed the two to appeal to both sides at the same time. His proposal is a plan that isn't too radical to either side and is in the middle. He covers all of the bases; accounting for families who don't want any change in their coverage, small business owners and the rest of the population which can't afford the current healthcare. I like his plans about the insurance Exchange, the tax credits for small businesses and the public option. I think his plan includes the most necessary part of the whole healthcare bill which is keeping insurance companies honest and in check with the public option and the insurance exhange. I think his strategy of starting in the middle and changing the parts that need to be changed is a good one and much better than starting with a whole new system. This way, he will possibly huge problems, but he might also run into some problems with this bill. Although every part of his plan is appealing, I have no idea how he can pull this off without adding to our deficit. Eventhough I thought his ideas were very smart, I think this plan is a typical Obama hope speech which some parts are out of reach and cover up the truth. But if he can successfully make this work, all the power to him.
ReplyDeleteI would just like to agree with the ideas expressed by almost everyone at how appalled they are with some of the greedy inhuman things that insurance companies do.I understand that an insurance company is a business who the associates are trying to make thrive, but I am just so glad that preexisting customers cannot be dropped in times of need, or that those denied from insurance now will be able to receive even minimal insurance so atrocities like that will not happen again.
ReplyDeleteDavid Kinrich
I'm going to agree with pretty much everyone in that the policies of insurance companies are extremely ridiculous and something needs to be done and Obama does a nice job addressing those issues. I think cracking down on insurance companies is the easiest thing he can do and is the first thing he should do to set a base for his other plans. I also think the interruption of his speech was completely inappropriate. It's fine to have an opinion on something, but to interrupt the President like that is just flat out wrong. I don't think his words were the problem, it's the forum that he yelled it in which makes it an issue
ReplyDeleteIn Obama's speech, he presents concrete ways that his plan will reform health care. He presents his health care ideas in a way which will reassure Americans who are nervous or uneasy about changing their healthcare plans. His plan for people who are already ensured will begin to force insurance companies with sometimes shady motives or methods to provide better quality insurance. The stories about patients who were treated horribly by their insurance companies emphasizes America's need to stand together and act against this injustice. Obama's idea to create cheap public health care for uninsured people or small businesses who can't afford insurance is addressing a huge problem in American healthcare, with tens of millions of Americans uninsured. Obama also uses McCain's idea of immediate cheap insurance for those people who still can't afford health care; incorporating a republican's ideas into his plan will surely comfort America's republicans or those who fear large governmental control of healthcare. Obama also decided not to cover abortion in the public healthcare plan, which will surely push many Americans to accept the it, although I personally disagree with Obama's decision regarding abortion. Obama's helathcare plan will work as an adequate start towards a better future in which healthcare is less corrupt and the national deficit has decreased.
ReplyDeleteEmma P
I agree with Maguire; I think that Obama's idea of working off of a basic healthcare idea rather than a completely new system is necessary when considering the times we are living in. A new system for healthcare would only be able to be introduced in a much more stable time. Obama's healthcare plan seems to be a rather short term delay in the decline of quality of healthcare, rather than a long term fix. But I do believe that it will pull America out of its hole, and save millions of lives through cheaper and better quality healthcare.
ReplyDeleteLiz is very right when she says he is taking "the good things from previous plans and combine them." Also, her personal expierience was a very good example of how the previous health insurance just cannot be tolerate any longer.Obama's health care plan will help people like Liz's aunt, and I believe that Obama will stick to his word and try his hardest to make this revolutionary plan move into action.
ReplyDelete--Julia Wald
I think we are being a little repetitive. Everyone is saying the same thing. Yes, CLEARLY it is disqusting that hospitals throw sick people out on the street. Clearly we need a new plan, and fast. I agree with Maguire, but part of Obama's job is to give hope to the people. What this country is facing is ugly, and if he gave an hour long speech to congress about how horrible it was and not how to fix the nation, we would criticize that as well. I am on Obamas side, I think that giving a speech about hope is appropriate, especially in these hard times. The part I do agree with Maguire about is my skepticism on how much he can actually fix. It's one thing to reassure the public, it's another to give false hope.
ReplyDeleteObama's health care plan seems like an excellent alternative to the failing system as of late. His plan is direct with clearly laid out goals that seem very attainable. He plans to provide health insurance to those without it, provide a more stable health insurance plan to those who already have some sort of health insurance, and to ease the growing cost of health care for small businesses, families and the government. It seems like his plan will overall be a very large improvement to our current health care plan. It's great that people with preexisting conditions are not exempt and refused health care. I agree with Obama on not having people be dropped by their insurance when they are sick... when they need it most! It seems that overall this plan will be used to protect the American people from the sometimes greedy and seemingly heartless insurance companies. It's good that we are finally deciding to catch up with France and Canada by making nationwide healthcare much more available. I am also pro-abortion, but I do think that it would be unnecessary to include it in this new Health care plan. I truly feel that this plan will be a helpful and necessary step for our nation.
ReplyDeleteJustin Bretter
I also agree with Maguire. Instituting a brand new system is just not a possibility for our nation in the current economic struggles that we are dealing with. I disagree with Emma though and feel that this plan is not just a quick fix, but a plan that will ultimately improve and shape what modern healthcare in America will hopefully soon become.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to play devils advocate for a minute and try and point out some of the flaws in the Obama Health Care plan that i see. First of all, I can see a possible problem with the fact that the majority of people have to pay the same fee for their different insurance needs. For example, a young, middle class individual who is in good health but does not have surplus income may struggle from having to compensate from the less healthy older citizens. I personally think the goal of universal health care is fair, but I think that shifting more of the economic burden on the rising middle could be detrimental. Leveling the playing field in terms of health and how much you pay could also potentially make people less motivated on staying healthy for themselves. The new plan does not reward the people who try to stay healthy, it actually penalizes them, which I feel is a step in the wrong direction, our country already has the most overweight percentage population than any other country in the world.
ReplyDelete-michael williams
I personally believe that in general the plan will be effective. I don't think it is much of a quick fix, but I think in maybe 5 years we will be in a much better place. I Think that adding a healthcare option sponsored by the government in addition to private insurers will both drive prices down because of competition, and improve overall quality and service for private insurance companies. I think his speech was something that we needed to hear. We can get our fill of facts and opinions anywhere, but we can't get an inspiring sign of hope in many places. Obama presented himself in a very confident, sophisticated way which was comforting to see in this time of uncertainty. I agree with what people above me have said about how private insurers need to be regulated and I believe that the new plan will succeed in making them more reasonable, as well as giving people other options.
ReplyDelete-Michael Williams
I just want to start off by saying that President Obama speaks with such eloquence and genuine feeling that it makes me want to agree with every word he says! And I am so glad that a lot of people so far are, especially the people at his speech. I do agree with what he says though, and not just because of how he says it but because what he's saying is true. We need a new plan and soon because every single day as he pointed out thousands of people lose their jobs. Because that statement doesn't affect almost any of us, it's gravity may be passed over. That means that families are being endangered and especially the health of everyone affected. I really like Obama's plan that people who have good health care can keep it, and those who don't have good health care or health care at all can get an improved plan. His plan reaches out to everyone and seems to satisfy all parties. Whether or not everyone will end up satisfied is something to watch for. I truly believe that his new plan and attitude can and will make a difference. The high cost of the plan seems almost trivial in comparison to all the benefits the individuals will get from it. Though the plan sounds somewhat straightforward and simple, I think that's why it is all the more likely to succeed. I look forward to following the growth and development of and the reactions to this novel reform.
ReplyDelete--Haley Lucitt
I'm on the same page completely as Liz on that note that what Obama needs is to give our nation hope, not only to make us feel better but to rally our support. The only thing that will truly determine if this new system will work is if we participate in it and are open to the change he has been promising from the beginning of his presidential campaign. He needs our support and enthusiasm in order for his plan to even have a chance at working. So in that sense I disagree that he is giving a sense of false hope because it's only false hope if we make it that way. If we give this plan the chance it deserves, it will work.
ReplyDelete--Haley Lucitt
I believe that President Obama came up with a plan that addresses, or at least, tries to address everyone’s issues with the current healthcare situation and tries to come up with a solution for these problems. His plan effectively integrates both the Republican point of view and the Democratic one as well, all while trying to maintain a firm position on the issue, instead of just trying to please both parties. President Obama’s examples of people losing coverage just when they most needed it got a response out of his audience, in the sense that it allowed them to see just how deficient the current plan is.
ReplyDeleteThe two biggest issues that this proposed healthcare plan addressed was what would change, and more importantly how these changes would be paid for. President Obama made it very clear that nothing would change monetarily in terms of expenses, but that the reforms made would help to pay the plan itself. This was a rational statement and made sense, because what seems to be happening now is that there is a lot of confusion and disagreement as to how healthcare issues should be addressed; unfortunately, this is exactly what is costing both government and the people of the United States lots of money. With the president’s plan going into effect, it would make sense that once all this confusion and deficiency is gone, everyone will get the coverage they want, and companies will be able to profit instead of continuing to lose money.
I agree with Michael on the point that Obama's speech served as a sort of reassurance to everyone. What people need now is reassurance, but not so much reassurance that things will be ok in the future but of the government has a plan to solve these issues. Promises that can't be fulfilled are the last thing that people want to hear right now, and Obama's plan proved to be working towards moving forward.
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