Obama "A Little Frustrated" With Health Care Reform Stagnation

President Barack Obama acknowledged Tuesday that he has grown "a little frustrated" with objections to his health care reform goals.

"This is one of those situation where it is so obvious that the system we have isn't working for many people and we can do better," the president said in a virtual town hall hosted by AARP, the lobbyist group representing older Americans.

"Sometimes I get a little frustrated," he said. "We have got to have the courage to be willing to change things."

After opening remarks, Obama took health-care related questions from individuals throughout the nation. Meanwhile members of his own party in Congress are proving reluctant to support his desired reforms.

Obama continued to stress the need for a systematic overhaul of the current system. But a good part of the AARP forum was spent dispelling concerns held by individual callers.

On the topic of rationing, the president insisted that "nobody's going to be forcing you to make a set of decisions on end-of-life care based on some bureaucrat in Washington."

When pressed why members of Congress wouldn't themselves be required to get insurance through a government-run plan, the president stressed that the legislation currently being debated wouldn't require anyone to buy into any program. In the process, he referenced the nationalized Canadian model -- often used as a political boogeyman by conservatives -- to underscore the more moderate approach his administration is taking.

"This is not like Canada where we are suddenly dismantling the system and suddenly you are signed up under some government program," he said.

The president ended the forum by offering a historical contrast between the current debate and that which surrounded the creation of Medicare.

"Everyone who was in favor of the status quo was trying to scare the American people [in 1965] saying 'government is trying to take over health care,' 'you can't choose your doctor,' 'they are going to ration care,'" Obama said. "You know what? Medicare has been extraordinarily popular. It has worked ... And we can do the same this time."

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Comments

[iralarry]

I am very pleased Mr. Obama has asked the nation and its leaders to tackle the problems of Managed health care in this country. In the United States, we pay twice as much for health care and receive for all this money half as fine a result as countries like Canada, France, Germany and England. Health care in the US is a commodity like 600 thread count sheets or a car or groceries. You have to pay for it. Somehow I do not see health care as a commodity you either can afford or not. Profiting off peoples disease whether the result of egregious lifestyles or just dumb luck is inherently wrong. If health insurance is to work,it must be from a nonprofit standpoint. Denying coverage for expensive disease states because it cuts into profits is immoral and should be illegal. You either cover or you do not. You can not just drop people because you lost on this one. Remove the profit incentive and health care begones affordable. Manage the ever rising cost of providing health care and it will remain affordable.

This country needs to eliminate insurance and simply cover people as if they had a right to health care. I have no fear of government run health care. The competition oriented Republicans who say that you can not trust government to manage the peoples health care are in fact government themselves. How then can you trust them to tell the truth?

[Riss09]

they're just all greedy and selfish..it's sad, every time I go on facebook, I see the same ppl voting in polls against Obama, the guy who I used to work with, typical white male Republican that moved up within one year of work, the redneck type....always the same ones....and what's left for everyone else if they don't even care about the rest of us? It hurts me that they always talk against it, when it affects so many people--even ppl like me they don't expect.....

[Riss09]

I meant and the redneck type.....lol

[Mor Jokay]

If Mr. Obama is a little frustrated with the Health Care Reform Bill perhaps rather than courting bipartisan support he needs to offer real leadership to his Party thats controls both Houses and realize that the waterring down the bill for the sake of a few Republican vites will only doom Real Reform to failure! Did Bush look for bipartisan support on any issue? Meanwhile where is the promised Health Care Program that all Americans should have available, just like their Congressman and Senators have? ~ as he promised in his campaign.

Insurance companies contributed $35,743,017 million to members of Congress
during the last two election cycles, according to an analysis released today
by the nonprofit, nonpartisan Consumer Watchdog. About $5 million went to
members of the House subcommittee holding a hearing Thursday entitled "How
Should the Federal Government Oversee Insurance?"
The Health Care sector gave nearly $170 million to federal lawmakers in 2007 and 2008
Sen, Bacus received over $3 Million and he heads the Finance Committee that held rigged hearing
on Health Care Reform without allowing a single payer or public option advocate to testify.

[dinglebe]

Mr. President,

You simply have to convince your Senate Majority Leader, Harry the-spineless-dolt Reid to do his job. Maybe threaten to go ahead with nuclear waste storage in Nevada. I hear Searchlight would be a perfect location.

[Whinger]

Patience is a virtue, possess it if you can.......­..........­.......!

GOP don't care about us, you're dealing with selfish, contrary losers who put party before nation!

[Truthahn]

He sat on the sidelines for months, and now he's complaining that people haven't been moving fast enough? Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.

[rxvette]

Without a public option or a single payer system the private insurance companies win. And we've already seen what happens when they win. Millions of Americans get screwed.

Here's what successful health care reform should look like - http://bit.ly/9QLV8

[Hiphopcrates]

Where are the clergy?

[walasue]

Now it should be clear to all americans that we have to take our destiny in our hands.I admire the Iranian people and people in other countries who have stood up to their incompetent lesders.The politicians know that a divided people can not stand up to them.We do not have a democracy in America,because from the definition of democracy ie.The rule of the people by the people for the people it is evident that the laws and decisions our elected leaders make in washington are being controlled by their selfish interests and the powerful lobbyists and groups that control them.We need a systemic change to flush out all the filth.......More political parties should rise up with independents and the PEOPLE should demand term limits on representa­tives..Thi­s may be difficult as they are the ones who make the laws right now.
So let us wait till 2010 and vote out all who are not fighting for the intersts of the PEOPLE and do not allow politicains to divide us with issues sucha s abortion,gunrights etc.Thosea re just smokescreens for them to use while robbing the people.

[plaidsportcoat]

Obama is ALSO lying when he insinuates the Canadian health care systemsux

[plaidsportcoat]

sam is VERY cute

[ChelseaC]

I agree. I saw Sam on the Ed Show--he's a HOTTIE.

[ChelseaC]

The Canadian system, Mr. President, is much better than the American system.
We SHOULD dismantle what we have.
Dismantling beats death and HR-676 would save lives.
You were for dismantling our for profit system in 2003
as shown in this video:
http://www.pnhp.org/change/

My question to you is, why did you sell out?
60 people die everyday in America because they can't afford this for profit system.
So when is REAL change coming?

[imworking4me]

Dear Mr. President,

Time is not nearly as critical as getting this one right is. So please veto any healthcare bill that does not include a public (not co-op) option as an alternative to the avarice of the insurance industry that has so ruined good healthcare in our country, only to enrich the few.

[sunshinerain]

I am contacting all my reps, anyone I can think of, the White House, saying the same thing. We want a public option, not this watered-down "co-op" option - I don't want a DIME going to private insurance.

[Erdgeist]

It is frustrating, especially when the Republicans outright lie about government run health care. The best health care system in the U.S. that surpasses all metrics and makes private health care look like something out of the Dark Ages is run by the VA* -- the GOVERNMENT! This should be our model for the public option--hopefully to make private health care honest for a change.

*http://www.himss.org/foundation/docs/RachelMayo.pdf

[Truthahn]

Who cares what the Republicans think. They don't have the votes to block health care reform or any other piece of legislation. Democrats have no excuses if they can't deliver.

[whoknew42]

Yeah - well, guess what...I'm friggin' frustrated too!!

Give me a break with this, ok??!!

SHEITZE!!

[rkfdred]

I am hoping that he has a long term plan regarding health care. It isn't totally crazy that he is letting the republicans rant and rave as they are. Many of us are seeing a side of these guys that we never knew existed and it isn't pretty. There is still plenty of time for him to get what he wants and if he does, many of our politicians will have been shown for what they really are - opportunists who do not really care about Americans but only in keeping their jobs. That's what I am hoping for, at least. Obama is a smart politician and I'd like to think he knows exactly what he is doing. I guess we'll see.

[Rogan]

I want Obama and his administration to do something about the mainstream media being ninety percent co-opted as pro-corporate propaganda machine.

Everyone loves the chess metaphor with Obama, and I do, too. So I see why that's tricky: the media thing, that's their queen. And he can't take that piece out by direct assault, because it's too dangerous, and too powerful; it has to be done by crafty coordination of strategy and opportunity.

But it's the MAIN problem Obama faces: the so-called "mainstream media" has become the monster riding this country into the ground. When I was a radical adolescent, I felt very strongly that our government ought to socialize television completely, or take some other drastic action, to remove the system of paid advertising support, and therefore/thereby invisible corporate control. It does not comfort me, that I was right. (Because my more radical ideas now, include being very frightened for any future in this country, and wishing I had the means to leave, at least until things get, I don't know, less frightening.)

[LemonMeringue]

The Fairness Doctrine was a good thing.

When Reagan killed that, it made all the terrible things that happened under Bush and Cheney possible.

The media has been allowed to lie to the American people far too long, and to present only one side in an extremely dishonest manner.