President Obama just delivered a short speech praising Senate passage of the health care bill, calling the health care bill one of the most important piece of social legislation since Social Security in the 1930’s and Medicare in the 1960’s.
“In a historic vote that took place this morning, members of the Senate joined their colleagues in the House of Representatives to pass a landmark health insurance reform package, legislation that brings us toward the end of a nearly century long struggle to reform America’s health care system,” said Obama. “Ever since Teddy Roosevelt first called for reform in 1912, seven presidents, Democrats and Republicans alike, have taken up the cause of health care reform. Time and time again, such efforts have been blocked by special interest lobbyists who have perpetuated a status quo that works betters for the insurance industry than it does for the American people. With passage of reform bills in both the House and the Senate, we are now finally poised to deliver on the promise of real, meaningful health insurance that will bring additional security and stability to the American people”
Obama also offered an apparent rebuttal to liberals who have charged that the bill didn’t go far enough. He said insurance companies will no longer be able to drop people’s coverage because of expensive costs of care, or deny coverage because of pre-existing conditions, and discussed other regulations to extend access to health care.
“As I’ve said before, these are not small reforms, these are big reforms,” said Obama. “If passed, this will be the most important piece of social legislation since the Social Security Act passed in the 1930s, and the most important reform of our health care system since Medicare passed in the 1960s.”
A few hours after the Senate vote, Obama was on his way to Hawaii with his family.
