Obama stumps in Ohio for health-care reform

Mar 15, 2010 — The Columbus Dispatch

Darrel Rowland

Mar. 15, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- STRONGSVILLE, Ohio The political became personal today as President Barack Obama launched what could be the climactic week on his health care plan in Ohio.

He came to the Buckeye State not only because it is important politically in the debate over health care, but, as he put it, "I'm here because of Natoma."

"Natoma" is Natoma Canfield, 50, a self-employed cleaning woman from nearby Medina who wrote to the president in December because her health insurance premium had jumped 40 percent to nearly $8,500 a year and she could no longer afford it.

The compelling story, related by Obama to insurance executives earlier this month as an example of why his health care overhaul is necessary, took a dramatic turn last weekend when Canfield learned she had leukemia and was hospitalized. Her sister spoke movingly on her behalf at the Walter F. Ehrnfelt Recreation and Senior Center in this Cleveland suburb.

Obama, occasionally having to talk over a heckler or two, told hundreds standing in a packed gymnasium that Canfield's tale of woe could be their story, too.

"And so when you hear people say "start over" I want you to think about Natoma," the president said. "When you hear people saying that this isn't the "right time" think of what she's going through. When you hear people talk about who's up and who's down in the polls instead of what's right or what's wrong for the country think of her and the millions of responsible people working people being hurt by today's system of health insurance.

"And I want you to remember: There but for the grace of God go I."

Obama delayed his trip to Asia for three days so he could be in Washington late this week as the health care battle apparently comes to a head. Democrats say they will have the votes within days to approve a bill although skeptics point out that party leaders still must win over several moderate Democratic House members from Ohio and other states.

The current plan is for the House to approve the measure as passed by the Senate in December, then pass a second "reconciliation" bill that removes many parts that have drawn objections, such as the federal subsidies for Medicaid payments in Nebraska. The Senate would have to approve the reconciliation proposal as well, but because of the arcane rules on such bills could do so by a mere majority vote, since filibusters aren't allowed on such legislation. Democrats control the Senate 59 to 41.

At stake is a plan that supporters say would provide coverage to more than 30 million Americans without health insurance, forbid insurance companies from denying coverage because of pre-existing conditions, bar lifetime limits on coverage, stop insurers from dropping coverage when a person gets sick, allowing children to remain on their parents' policies until age 26, and many more provisions.

Republicans are united in their opposition to Obama's proposed changes. They say the American people oppose the plan -- a Rasmussen Reports poll today showed 53 percent against it, although other polls show support for individual aspects of the proposal and it costs too much.

Perhaps showing that the results of this week's political battle will play out in the November election, the GOP chose a congressional candidate to offer its official pushback: Jim Renacci, running against a freshman Democrat who's considered a swing vote on health care, John Boccieri of Alliance.

"You know the plan being forced on American people fails to address the issues that truly increase costs and as Congress is going to pass health care reform," said Renacci, a businessman and Wadsworth mayor. "They owe it to the American people to start with a clean bill that incorporates ideas from both sides of the aisle."

Today Obama maintained that his plan actually has financial benefits for many.

"My proposal would bring down the cost of health care for families, businesses, and the federal government," he said. "Americans buying comparable coverage to what they have today in the individual market would see premiums fall by 14 to 20 percentFor Americans who get their insurance through the workplace, costs could fall by as much as $3,000 a person."

Obama, who tossed aside his suit jacket and spoke in shirt sleeves, also challenged opponents who say his plan will hurt Medicare, an item of obvious interest to many in the crowd at the senior center. (Obama had to briefly halt his speech when an older man collapsed in the audience.)

"Every senior should know: there is no cutting of your guaranteed Medicare benefits. Period, no ifs, ands or buts. This proposal makes Medicare stronger, makes the coverage better, and makes its finances more secure. Anyone who says otherwise is misinformed or is trying to misinform you."

Ironically, Obama appeared the same facility that hosted John McCain and Sarah Palin just before the 2008 election. Among the local dignitaries appearing at that rally was Cleveland Browns quarterback Brady Quinn, who was traded yesterday to Denver.

Dozens of vociferous protestors stood in a cold, blowing mist near the site of today's rally. Most were carrying signs decrying the health care proposal.

Gov. Ted Strickland appeared on the stage with Obama; the governor was to attend a fundraiser this afternoon with Vice President Joe Biden at the law firm of Climaco, Lefkowitz, Peca, Wilcox and Garofoli in Cleveland, according to Strickland's re-election campaign.

The trip is the president's third in a week to discuss health care, and all three have been to electoral swing states for campaign-style events. Last week, he traveled to the Philadelphia and St. Louis areas.

Today's visit to Ohio is Obama's second in less than two months. He visited Elyria in January to talk health care reform after GOP Sen. Scott Brown's upset election in Massachusetts, a vote that many touted as a referendum on Obama's health care overhaul.

But in many respects today's gathering showed the most personal tact taken by the president. He not only talked about the plight of Canfield, he spoke of how such struggles have touched his own family, too.

"I'm here because I remember my own mother, in the last six months of her life, on the phone in her hospital room arguing with insurance companies when she should have been spending time with her family," Obama said, in a story he told many times on the 2008 campaign trail but seldom since.

"Because in the end, this debate is about far more than the politics. It's about what kind of country we want to be. It's about the millions of lives that would be touched and, in some cases, saved by making private health insurance more secure and more affordable. It's about a woman, lying in a hospital bed, who wants nothing more than to be able to pay for the care she needs."

Newstex ID: KRTB-0147-42910282