Obama Takes on Health Care Reform Crackpottery

President Obama busts some myths in his weekly address. He opens with the arguably good news about the economy, then gets right down to setting the record straight on health care reform.

POINT #1: Opposition to health care reform is a fringe position:

[W]e are moving toward a broad consensus on reform. Four committees in Congress have produced legislation – an unprecedented level of agreement on a difficult and complex challenge. In addition to the ongoing work in Congress, providers have agreed to bring down costs. Drug companies have agreed to make prescription drugs more affordable for seniors. The AARP supports reform because of the better care it will offer seniors. And the American Nurses Association and the American Medical Association, which represent the millions of nurses and doctors who know our health care system best, support reform, as well.

POINT #2: If you oppose reform, it's because someone's been feeding you BS -- no one wants to kill your grandma:

[L]et me explain what reform will mean for you. And let me start by dispelling the outlandish rumors that reform will promote euthanasia, cut Medicaid, or bring about a government takeover of health care. That’s simply not true. This isn’t about putting government in charge of your health insurance; it’s about putting you in charge of your health insurance. Under the reforms we seek, if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan.

POINT #3: Reform means you keep more of your money, while getting better service and care:

[W]hile reform is obviously essential for the 46 million Americans who don’t have health insurance, it will also provide more stability and security to the hundreds of millions who do. Right now, we have a system that works well for the insurance industry, but that doesn’t always work well for you. What we need, and what we will have when we pass health insurance reform, are consumer protections to make sure that those who have insurance are treated fairly and that insurance companies are held accountable.

We will require insurance companies to cover routine checkups and preventive care, like mammograms, colonoscopies, or eye and foot exams for diabetics, so we can avoid chronic illnesses that cost too many lives and too much money.

We will stop insurance companies from denying coverage because of a person’s medical history. I will never forget watching my own mother, as she fought cancer in her final days, worrying about whether her insurer would claim her illness was a preexisting condition. I have met so many Americans who worry about the same thing. That’s why, under these reforms, insurance companies will no longer be able to deny coverage because of a previous illness or injury. And insurance companies will no longer be allowed to drop or water down coverage for someone who has become seriously ill. Your health insurance ought to be there for you when it counts – and reform will make sure it is.

With reform, insurance companies will also have to limit how much you can be charged for out-of-pocket expenses. And we will stop insurance companies from placing arbitrary caps on the amount of coverage you can receive in a given year or a lifetime because no one in America should go broke because of illness.

Don't expect point #2 to change any of the town hall goons' minds, they believe what they want to believe and that leaves them ineducable -- they don't want to know the truth. You can't set creationists straight, you can't set birthers straight, and you can't set these people straight. If someone is deadset against being anything other than an ignorant ass, there's nothing you can do to wise them up.

The teabaggers are a lost cause. Obama just doesn't want to leave their crazy-talk out there unanswered. I'm pretty sure he knows he's not going to swing them around.