27 + 1 to National Health Care Reform
We have been following the ongoing debate, and gridlock, facing the national health care reform movement. And now the grandmaster of change himself is preparing to reveal all. President Obama will be addressing Congress next week in a primetime delivery aimed at outlining a plan that he supports. The speech is anticipated for Wednesday evening, just a day after the House and Senate reconvene after August recess. Currently there are plans in both Houses that endeavor to reform healthcare in the U.S. but which employ distinctly different strategies to achieve fundamental change.
While the speech will be aimed at clarifying the President's vision of tangible reform, it enables him to address the population that will be directly affected by the changes, you and me.
And since the bills for national health care reform began to materialize in the House and Senate some months back, a lot has happened. The public option, offering government-run health care as an alternative to private insurance, has been on the chopping block but still hasn't been ruled out. Supporters of national health care reform have taken to town hall meetings to discuss potential reform with constituents, and have been met by both support and downright feisty crowds. And, most recently, the loudest voice supporting sweeping healthcare reform in the Senate went quiet. Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts spent much of his 46 years on Capitol Hill championing healthcare reform. In his wake, it remains to be seen which direction the debate will ultimately go.
After making 27 speeches on the subject of healthcare reform, the speech President Obama delivers next week to Congress and to the American people, may prove to be the ultimate game changer.
Related Resources:
- Obama aims to take control of health care debate (Associated Press)
- Health care debate rages on as Obama preps speech (USA Today)
- Obama's big gamble on healthcare debate (Los Angeles Times)
- What is Public Option Health Care? (FindLaw's Law & Daily Life)
- Senator Ted Kennedy's Legislative Legacy (FindLaw's Law & Daily Life)