President Obama Will Get Health Care Reform Enacted Yes, He Can -- Yes, He Will

From The Washington Post - Sept. 13, 2009:

"This is the hard part. This is when the special interests and the insurance companies and the folks who want to kill reform fight back with everything they've got," Obama told a cheering crowd at the Target Center here in Minneapolis. "This is when they spread all kinds of rumors to scare and intimidate the American people. This is what they always do. That's why I need your help."

Under the legislation, insurers would be prohibited from onerous practices such as denying coverage to people with preexisting conditions, placing annual or lifetime caps on coverage and imposing unlimited out-of-pocket fees. Although many elements of reform would take months or years to implement, the insurance changes could take effect "the day after" a law is signed. Members of Congress "will be able to make the case to constituents that this will have an immediate and real impact on people's lives."

As the president put it: "What this plan will do is to make the insurance you have work better for you."

Part of the challenge, said Evan Bayh, is addressing the "cognitive dissonance" of a $900 billion bill that purports to save money. The senator said he thinks it is possible to achieve that feat -- through dramatic changes in how health care is delivered and paid for. But he acknowledged that the argument "seems incongruous" to lawmakers and average Americans.

For his part, Obama reiterated his pledge that the legislation will pay for expanded coverage largely through savings within the health system and "will not add one dime to the deficit."

"I intend to be president for a while, and once this bill passes, I own it," he said in an interview with CBS scheduled to air on "60 Minutes" Sunday night. "I'm the one who's going to be held responsible. So I have every incentive to get this right."