By Katie Farrell
NEWBURYPORT — Saying health care reform is long overdue, Congressman John Tierney, D-Salem, said yesterday Democrats will spend the upcoming months addressing "misinformation" about President Obama's health care plans, while reaching a compromise to produce a final bill that will have the needed support for passage.
During an interview with The Daily News yesterday, Tierney, who sits on the Joint Committee on Labor and Education that played a significant role in shaping the House version of the bill, touted Obama's plan. Noting the efforts to reform the health care system date back as far as President Truman, he said the mood of the country, combined with the Democrats' strength on Capitol Hill, have cleared the way for its passage.
Tierney said in his Congressional district, which includes all of Greater Newburyport, he hears as many people talk about the fear of losing their insurance as those who cannot afford the escalating premiums, co-pays and prescription costs. Still others are told insurance won't cover their care due to "pre-existing conditions" when they get sick or they have reached the cap, or limit, for their coverage.
"That's going to stop," he said.
Under Obama's plan, the 47 million Americans now without health insurance will receive it, while those who change jobs or lose their jobs will still keep their coverage, Tierney said, Currently, 14,000 Americans now lose their health insurance each day, he said, using a statistic that Obama has cited to try to show the need for reform.
"People are going to be guaranteed to have health care," Tierney said, and more of each dollar going into the health care system will be used for care rather than marketing, salaries or other costs.
Critics — including Republicans and members of Obama's own Democratic Party — have said the package is too expensive and say the president is "rushing" the package through and acting too hastily.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has argued that a rapid-fire approach carries pitfalls similar to ones that have affected the $787 billion economic stimulus package.
"Health care reform is too important to rush through and get wrong," the Kentucky lawmaker said in a Senate speech.
Tierney said the notion that the bill is being rushed is "a red herring."
"That's a red herring that people are throwing out there," he said, adding that the notion of reform is not a new concept.
There are "myths" about the plan from people who haven't read through it, Tierney said, calling it "uninformed scare tactics." Democrats will need to meet the obstacles of "the noise machine and misinformation," Tierney said, adding the "radio talk show idiots" were largely to blame.
"We have to do some work on this," he said.
Obama, who is coming to Portsmouth, N.H., on Tuesday for a town hall meeting to discuss the plan, said yesterday he's determined to get the overhaul of the health care system before the end of the year and, if necessary, without bipartisan support.
"I promise you, we will pass reform by the end of this year because the American people need it," the president said in interviews.
Tierney is confident that the bill will pass by the end of the year, saying there is plenty of time remaining over the next few months. The congressman said he will continue to fight to keep a provision in the plan that says 85 percent of the money going into the health care system must be spent on health care, while the rest can go to marketing, salaries and other costs.
He also will work to keep provisions in that protect retirees and their health care coverage.
"People want something to be done," Tierney said.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
