REPUBLICANS WENT on a new offensive against President Barack Obama’s healthcare plans yesterday, denouncing the price tag, but previously sceptical Democrats rallied around the president as his drive for reform gained momentum.
In a rousing address to Congress on Wednesday night, Mr Obama signalled flexibility on a public insurance option and refuted “lies” spread by detractors. This came as the US Census Bureau reported that the number of people without health insurance rose to 46.3 million last year, from 45.7 million a year earlier. Mr Obama yesterday said that a further six million Americans had lost their cover since the economic crisis struck a year ago.
A CNN snap poll found that 67 per cent of those surveyed after the speech said they supported Mr Obama’s proposals, compared with 53 per cent in the days before he spoke. More Democrats than Republicans were surveyed. Shares in US health insurers rose yesterday as investors showed relief that there were no new surprises.
Mr Obama reiterated his support for a government-run insurance plan but spoke of alternatives, including co-operatives. He also said he would stop insurance companies denying coverage to clients who fell ill or for those with pre-existing conditions, and offered to address Republican concerns about medical malpractice laws. “I will not waste time with those who have made the calculation that it’s better politics to kill this plan than to improve it,” he said.
Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute said the president had “changed the zeitgeist”. “He was never going to change a lot of minds but he focused on things that will help those with insurance, which will undercut a lot of unease, and he was devilishly clever in energising his base.”
Ben Nelson, a Democratic senator who had been one of the most sceptical of the administration’s plans, yesterday called Mr Obama’s speech a “game- changer”. The president had made clear he “was not going to make [a public healthcare option] the linchpin to the package”, Mr Nelson said.
The address may have rallied Democratic factions around Mr Obama but Republicans were unmoved in their opposition. “The math doesn’t add up and the record doesn’t add up,” John McCain said of the $900 billion price-tag the president put on reform. – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009)