Last night I was at the Capitol as
the president reached out to Americans—after a month of loud, often
confusing debate at public meetings and in the press—and spoke about
health care reform.
I was honored to attend the speech
as the guest of Congressman Langevin. I watched the members of Congress
and the cabinet gather, the cheering as President Obama entered the
room, the common applause during some parts of the speech and the clear
partisan divide at other times, including the audible gasp as a GOP
member yelled “You lie!” at the president.
As a woman in politics, I was interested
in a new “rainbow coalition” in the room—the growing numbers of
women in the House and Senate dressed in bright colors that made them
highly visible. A marked partisan difference was apparent between the
Republican side of the chamber dominated by the gray and dark blue suits
of the overwhelmingly male membership, and the Democratic side, where
red, yellow, orange and turquoise were everywhere. There is more progress
to be made, but the increasing presence of women in the legislative
process, with Speaker Pelosi the obvious emblem of that central place,
was visibly striking.
The speech I found surprisingly direct
and challenging. It suffered occasionally from the challenge of all
health care speeches: explaining the complexities of reform. It showcased
the president’s practical approach—his desire to get it done, rather
than to adhere to health policy orthodoxy.
I share his approach and was interested
to see how many of the pieces of his proposal are already in place in
Rhode Island, or have been worked on so that we are poised to move forward
quickly. The consumer protections he cited are already law in our state,
preventing insurers from excluding the sick, and inappropriately capping
or terminating coverage. The health insurance marketplace, the Exchange,
was part of my Mission Healthy RI package two years ago, and although
it did not pass, subsequent public meetings with local businesses, the
insurance companies and consumers has led to a well-defined proposal
ready to go.
But the most important portion of the
speech, to me, were the final moments when President Obama reminded
us what this issue is about: not the technicalities of health insurance,
but the fundamental values of our country. Do we believe that every
American has the right to health care and at a cost that will not bankrupt
them?
I believe the answer is yes. If we
and the members of Congress share that belief, then the program and
its design and rules will fall into place. And, after last night, I
believe that they will.