Obama urges urgency on health reform

The president hailed the Cleveland Clinic as a model for his key reforms: fewer repetitive tests, fewer unnecessary surgeries and salaried physicians.

By JOE HALLETT

COLUMBUS DISPATCH

SHAKER HEIGHTS — Leaving behind the ying and yang of Washington, President Barack Obama sought support for health-care reform Thursday in a state reeling from the recession, saying the economy can’t fully recover until the nation cures its flawed system.

Speaking to 1,800 at the public high school in this Cleveland suburb, Obama said the nation has “never been closer to achieving quality, affordable health care for all Americans,” and the effort should not be derailed by partisan politics or special interests.

“Reform may be coming too soon for some in Washington, but it’s not soon enough for the American people,” Obama said.

Following a nationally televised White House press conference Wednesday night, Obama hustled to this battleground election state in search of grass-roots support for health-care reform as doubts about its costs and impact on current coverage appeared to be growing.

Obama had wanted Congress to act before leaving for August recess, but he stretched that deadline to year’s end, saying he would prefer a bill on his desk in the fall.

“We can’t be afraid to change a system that we know is broken,” Obama said, urging congressional members to eschew partisanship for the public good.

“I don’t want delay for the sake of delay...because people are worried about tough decisions or casting tough votes. I don’t want to delay just because of politics.”

While five congressional committees are working on various versions of health-care reform, Obama sought to allay fears about the impact of widespread changes by broadly outlining what he expects and will accept.

“We’re not talking about completely scrapping the existing health-care system,” he said.

The president said people who are happy with their health-care plans will be able to keep them, and his plan would stop “insurers from cherry-picking who they cover.” He said patients would get no surprise bills, “because we’ll limit the amount your insurance company can force you to pay out of your own pocket.”

Obama said people with pre-existing medical conditions won’t be denied coverage, and that Americans who lose or leave their jobs still “will have access to affordable plans through a health-insurance exchange — a marketplace where insurance companies will compete to cover you, not deny you coverage.”

Small business, Obama added, would be able to choose a plan through the exchange to cover employees.

The president said health-care reform will not increase the federal deficit, promising, “I pledge that I will not sign health-insurance reform — as badly as I think it’s necessary, I won’t sign it if that reform adds even one dime to our deficit over the next decade — and I mean what I say.”

As the president foraged for support outside the beltway, GOP lawmakers in Washington sought to capitalize on polls showing the public increasingly wary about the costs of health-care reform and changes it might bring to coverage citizens are satisfied with.

While half of Americans support Obama’s health-care agenda, a new Associated Press poll before Wednesday’s news conference shows that the number of citizens who disapprove of the president’s plan has jumped to 43 percent, compared to 28 percent in April.

In a conference call with reporters, House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-West Chester, assailed the House Democratic version of the health-care bill as a “1.6 trillion monstrosity. The Democratic takeover [of health care] is going to diminish quality and, I think, reduce access to care. It’s going to lead to rationing and, I believe, denial of care.”

Boehner was “not at all surprised” that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said yesterday that he will postpone a Senate floor debate on health care until September.

Before the town hall meeting, Obama toured Cleveland Clinic, which he touted as a model for key reforms he wants, including a system in which there would be fewer repetitive tests and unnecessary surgeries. Doctors at the clinic receive straight salaries rather than being paid per procedure.

“That makes it easier for them to make some of these changes because people don’t feel like maybe they’re losing money out of pocket,” Obama said.

Roy H. Thomas, an Elyria ophthalmologist and president of the 20,000-member Ohio State Medical Association, attended the town hall event and said afterward that the association is concerned about any plan for a government-paid public health coverage option.

He said the association supports the health care exchange concept, including providing government subsidies for those who can’t afford private health insurance.

XJack Torry of the Dispatch Washington bureau contributed to this story.

jhallett@dispatch.com