In his address to a joint session of Congress tonight, President Obama said,
"The time for bickering is over. The time for games has passed. Now is the season for action," the president told members of the House and Senate who showed their partisanship in their reactions throughout the 45-minute speech.
"Now is when we must bring the best ideas of both parties together and show the American people that we can still do what we were sent here to do," Obama said. "Now is the time to deliver on health care."
Obama was interrupted more than 50 times by applause from members of Congress, including a few bipartisan gestures of approval.
But one member, Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., interrupted the president's speech to yell, "You lie!" after the president asserted his proposals would not provide health insurance to illegal immigrants.
Later, Wilson offered a written apology.
"This evening I let my emotions get the best of me when listening to the president's remarks regarding the coverage of illegal immigrants in the health care bill," he said. "While I disagree with the president's statement, my comments were inappropriate and regrettable. I extend sincere apologies to the president for this lack of civility."
Louisiana Rep. Charles Boustany delivered the Republican response to President Obama's speech on health care.
The President's Plan for Health Reform
“It will provide more security and stability to those who have health insurance.
It will provide insurance to those who don’t. And it will lower the cost of health care
for our families, our businesses, and our government."
– PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA
If You Have Health Insurance,
the President's Plan:
•Ends discrimination against people with pre-existing conditions.
•Limits premium discrimination based on gender and age.
•Prevents insurance companies from dropping coverage when people are sick and need it most.
•Caps out-of-pocket expenses so people don’t go broke when they get sick.
•Eliminates extra charges for preventive care like mammograms, flu shots and diabetes tests to improve health and save money.
•Protects Medicare for seniors.
•Eliminates the “donut-hole” gap in coverage for prescription drugs.
If You Don’t Have Insurance,
the President's Plan:
•Creates a new insurance marketplace — the Exchange — that allows people without insurance and small businesses to compare plans and buy insurance at competitive prices.
•Provides new tax credits to help people buy insurance.
•Provides small businesses tax credits and affordable options for covering employees.
•Offers a public health insurance option to provide the uninsured and those who can’t find affordable coverage with a real choice.
•Immediately offers new, low-cost coverage through a national “high risk” pool to protect people with preexisting conditions from financial ruin until the new Exchange is created.
For All Americans,
the President's Plan:
•Won’t add a dime to the deficit and is paid for upfront.
•Requires additional cuts if savings are not realized.
•Implements a number of delivery system reforms that begin to rein in health care costs and align incentives for hospitals, physicians, and others to improve quality.
•Creates an independent commission of doctors and medical experts to identify waste, fraud and abuse in the health care system.
•Orders immediate medical malpractice reform projects that could help doctors focus on putting their patients first, not on practicing defensive medicine.
•Requires large employers to cover their employees and individuals who can afford it to buy insurance so everyone shares in the responsibility of reform.
