President Obama will give two important speeches on health care reform next week. The first, on Monday at the AFL-CIO Labor Day picnic in Cincinnati, before the obviously receptive audience, will be a friendly warm up for Wednesday evening's prime time address to a joint session of Congress in the Capitol in Washington, D.C. President Obama will highlight two "must haves" he considers essential in any health reform package: federal regulation of insurance companies prohibiting coverage denials or premium increases due to a person's current health or pre-existing conditions, and federal government subsidies to make health insurance affordable for low income Americans. He will also name as "give-aways" three non-essential and particularly controversial proposals of pending bills, including Medicare payment for end of life counseling, school based health clinics, and a national health care database organized by race, sex, sexual orientation and "gender identity."
Thus far, no one but the presidential speech writers seems to know whether three equally debated provisions of the various bills will be on the "must have" or the "give away" list: a federal option to compete with insurance companies, a mandate requiring employers to provide health coverage, and a mandate for everyone to buy health insurance.
Tune in to your favorite news channel Wednesday night. Until President Obama delivers his message to Congress, we don't really know anything about what the final health care reform measure will look like.
Thus far, no one but the presidential speech writers seems to know whether three equally debated provisions of the various bills will be on the "must have" or the "give away" list: a federal option to compete with insurance companies, a mandate requiring employers to provide health coverage, and a mandate for everyone to buy health insurance.
Tune in to your favorite news channel Wednesday night. Until President Obama delivers his message to Congress, we don't really know anything about what the final health care reform measure will look like.
