Obama accepts Democratic Presidential nomination; discusses health care, other issues at convention

Sep 1 2008

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) on Thursday at the Democratic National Convention in Denver accepted the presidential nomination and discussed his proposals for health care and other issues, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

In comments about his health care proposal, Obama said, "If you have health care, my plan will lower your premiums," adding, "If you don't, you'll be able to get the same kind of coverage that members of Congress give themselves." He added, "Now is the time to help families with paid sick days and better family leave."

Obama also criticized presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) and President Bush for their record on health care and other issues. He said that "it's time for them to own their failure" and "for us to change America" (Marinucci, San Francisco Chronicle, 8/29).

Health Care Forum

The Service Employees International Union and Families USA on Wednesday hosted a forum in Denver as part of "their lobbying efforts to get health care reform passed in the next administration's first 100 days," Roll Call reports. During the forum, former Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) said, "Health care is not just an issue for me, but a passion ... (a) cause of my life." She also cited the need to "move any legislation in the very beginning of a new president's term," adding, "We cannot wait."

Other speakers at the forum included former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair John Dingell (D-Mich.), Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D), Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell (D), Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D), Rep. Hilda Solis (D-Calif.) and Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland (D). According to Roll Call, all of the speakers expressed support for Obama to sign health care legislation as president and criticized Bush for his vetoes of two bills that would have expanded SCHIP. "Many of the speakers ... blasted 'special interests' as the cause of inaction on reforms" on health care, Roll Call reports.

Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, said, "We are all here to promote health care reform as the top and earliest priority for the next president and Congress" (Ackley, Roll Call, 8/28). He added, "The time is right for real health care reform, but to win, that reform must be the top and earliest domestic priority for the next president and Congress" (Kansas Health Institute News, 8/27). SEIU President Andy Stern added that, in the "first 100 days of an Obama administration, we're going to finally solve this health care problem" (Roll Call, 8/28).

Difficult Campaign for Health Insurers?

CongressDaily on Thursday examined how, regardless of "how the Democrats' presidential standard-bearer eventually frames the health care debate, one thing is clear: This might be a long fall campaign for insurance companies." Under his health care proposal, Obama would establish a "National Health Insurance Exchange" that would evaluate plans.

According to CongressDaily, Health Care for America Now -- a coalition of community groups, think tanks, labor unions and women's groups -- "is just fine with Obama's approach to insurance firms" and "stands by Obama's plan to keep a keen eye on insurance companies." The coalition, which plans to spend $25 million on advertising by Election Day and have 100 organizers in 45 states, seeks to frame the health debate as a decision on whether U.S. residents support a "guarantee of quality affordable health care for all" or "leaving us on our own to buy private health insurance."

Heather Booth -- health care campaign director for AFL-CIO, a member of the coalition -- said, "We think there has to be a real watchdog on what insurance companies can do ... that the costs that the insurers add on need to be monitored" (Edney, CongressDaily, 8/28).

Editorial, Opinion Pieces

Summaries of an editorial and two opinion pieces that addressed health care issues in the presidential election appear below.

• New York Times: "One test of a presidential candidate's strength, and often his best shot at winning, is how much he can mold his party in his image and rally it around a powerful argument for his election," and Obama "left Denver having made significant progress" on both, "using his acceptance speech to add detail to his promises of hope" on health care and other issues and "showcase a new theme that could find resonance with Democrats, new and old, and a broader range of Americans," according to a Times editorial. During his speech, Obama argued that government "cannot solve all of the country's problems" but "has basic responsibilities," and he promised to implement "universal health insurance" and other proposals as president, the editorial states. The editorial concludes, "We are skeptical of slogans, but there is a refreshing audacity -- another of Mr. Obama's favorite words -- in the strategy that he and his team have chosen" (New York Times, 8/29).
  
  
• Paul Krugman, New York Times: The annual report released this week by the U.S. Census Bureau supports the argument by Democrats that "working Americans are getting a raw deal" on health care and other issues, Times columnist Krugman writes. According to the report, "working-age Americans had significantly lower median income in 2007 than they did in 2000," and "health insurance -- especially the employment-based insurance on which most middle-class Americans depend -- was down," Krugman writes. He adds, "Republicans, very much including John McCain and his advisers, don't believe there's a problem." Last week, John Goodman, "an influential figure in Republican health care circles" and president of the National Center for Policy Analysis, argued that "there's no such thing as being uninsured," as all residents can obtain health care in emergency departments at no cost, Krugman writes. He adds, "The truth, of course, is that visiting the emergency room in a medical crisis is no substitute for regular care," and, "while a hospital will treat you whether or not you can pay, it will also bill you -- and the bill won't be waived unless you're destitute." Krugman writes, "Despite attempts to feign sympathy, the leaders of today's GOP fundamentally feel that Americans complaining about their economic and health care difficulties are, well, just a bunch of whiners," adding, "And that, ultimately, even more than their policy proposals, is what defines the difference between the parties" (Krugman, New York Times, 8/29).
  
  
• Michelle Andrews, U.S. News & World Report: The Obama health care proposal would reduce the number of uninsured U.S. residents by 18 million in 2009 and 34 million by 2018, and the McCain plan would reduce the number of uninsured residents by "a much more modest one million in 2009, rising to a maximum of five million in 2013," according to a preliminary analysis conducted by the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution, columnist Andrews writes in her "On Health & Money" column for U.S. News. She writes, "Of course, these numbers rely in part on assumptions that the researchers made about the candidates' proposals, filling in details where none have yet been supplied," adding, "So don't take those figures as gospel" (Andrews, "On Health & Money," U.S. News & World Report, 8/27).

Broadcast Coverage

PBS' "Nightly Business Report" on Thursday included an analysis of Obama tax proposals, which include parts of his health care plan. The segment includes comments from Obama; Len Burman, director of the Tax Policy Center; and Martin Sullivan, an economist at Tax Analysts (Gersh, "Nightly Business Report," PBS, 8/28).

WBUR's "Here and Now" on Thursday profiled 21-year-old Jason Rae, the youngest superdelegate at the convention. According to Rae, health care is a major issue for young adults ("Here and Now," WBUR, 8/28).