Health Care Hoo Haw and Reality

I did something Wednesday that apparently few commentators on President Obama's press conference did: I watched the press conference and listened to what was said. In the comparatively few minutes of television commentary I heard afterwards, I heard at least three statements that suggested the speaker hadn't been listening.

We can sympathize to a degree: these TV folks are trying to get their headlines and video clips, sound bites and opinions together during the press conference, which doubtless interferes with actually attending to it. But only to a degree.

I heard commentators state what President Obama should have said, apparently oblivious to the fact that he had said it. I heard a commentator speculate on a fact which the President stipulated to as part of his answer.

As usual then, President Obama was speaking over the heads of the media to the American people. He again paid them the compliment of not talking down to them, but stated his case clearly and in detail, especially on the subjects of health care and its relation to government spending and debt.

So in case you missed it, here is part of what the President did say:

"This is not just about the 47 million Americans who have no health insurance. Reform is about every American who has ever feared that they may lose their coverage if they become too sick, or lose their job, or change their job. It's about every small business that has been forced to lay off employees or cut back on their coverage because it became too expensive. And it's about the fact that the biggest driving force behind our federal deficit is the skyrocketing cost of Medicare and Medicaid.

So let me be clear: if we do not control these costs, we will not be able to control our deficit. If we do not reform health care, your premiums and out-of-pocket costs will continue to skyrocket. If we do not act, 14,000 Americans will continue to lose their health insurance every single day. These are the consequences of inaction. These are the stakes of the debate we're having right now."

"So let me be clear: This isn't about me. I have great health insurance, and so does every Member of Congress. This debate is about the letters I read when I sit in the Oval Office every day, and the stories I hear at town hall meetings. This is about the woman in Colorado who paid $700 a month to her insurance company only to find out that they wouldn't pay a dime for her cancer treatment - who had to use up her retirement funds to save her own life. This is about the middle-class college graduate from Maryland whose health insurance expired when he changed jobs, and woke up from emergency surgery with $10,000 in debt. This is about every family, every business, and every taxpayer who continues to shoulder the burden of a problem that Washington has failed to solve for decades.

This debate is not a game for these Americans, and they cannot afford to wait for reform any longer. They are counting on us to get this done. They are looking to us for leadership. And we must not let them down. We will pass reform that lowers cost, promotes choice, and provides coverage that every American can count on. And we will do it this year."