Fear, anticipation surround Y-S expectations on health care

President Barack Obama's speech today before Congress to sell reforms of U.S. health care is breeding local anticipation and fear.

While lawmakers grapple with how to insure some of the estimated 50 million Americans lacking coverage and lower costs, Obama has butted heads with Republicans, insurers and others over a proposal to form a government-run insurance plan — the so-called public option — to compete with private insurers. As the president seeks to boost his plans above the clouds of deep Republican opposition, medical and political leaders in the Mid-Valley differ on whether he can or should.

Taking his case directly to citizens gives Obama a best and perhaps last shot at taking control of the debate from his opponents, according to a Yuba City reform advocate.

"There's no way to predict that, but anytime you have the opportunity to speak to your public it's an opportunity to make your case," said Larry Ozeran, a Fremont-Rideout Health Group surgeon who chairs the Yuba-Sutter Healthcare Council. "So it depends on whether he makes a good enough case or not."

Opposition to Obama's health care proposals have focused in large part on the public insurance option, which the GOP warns will eventually drive private companies out of the market and leave the U.S. with a single-payer, government-run health system by default. For foes like Wade Arnold, the fight has expanded into a war against any major expansion of government into private life.

"I think he wants to assume control of as much of private industry as he can. It's about power and control," said Arnold, a former committee member of the Sutter County Republican Party. "... I believe his whole agenda, his whole motive, has been changing our system of government to a Marxist or socialist one."

Attempts on Tuesday to reach Rep. Wally Herger were unsuccessful. But the Chico Republican earlier came out strongly against Obama's proposals, attacking single-payer health care in an August open letter as a gateway to shortages, delays and rationing of services.

During an AFL-CIO Labor Day rally in Cincinnati, the president vigorously defended a lower-cost public option to cover the uninsured, though he stopped short of making it a condition for accepting any health reform bill.

However, moderate Senate Democrats have increasingly cooled to the idea, and Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., on Tuesday laid out an alternative substituting nonprofit insurance cooperatives for a government-run insurer — leaving a local Democrat wondering whether the president will aggressively battle for it.

"Obama can have tremendous influence if he pushes for that, but so far he hasn't pushed hard for it," said Bill Falzett, a psychologist for Fremont-Rideout Health Group and the Democratic Party's Yuba County chairman.

"He can have a lot of influence if he's willing to double down, really take this to the people. ... It's a no-brainer, really; we have the worst health insurance and delivery of services among the developed countries."

To some health department leaders, anyone pushing for insurance or health reform has a tall task stripping away partisan horn-locking from the details of expanding insurance and medical care.

"We all need to hear more about the details," said Beth Robey, director of Colusa County's Health and Human Services department. "There's a lot of unknowns, rumors and myths, and until we hear more detail about how (Obama's) program is going to work, it's hard to tell.

"I think most Americans are in favor of good health care for all. It's that the devil is in the details for how it gets done."

Contact Appeal-Democrat reporter Howard Yune at 749-4708 or hyune@appealdemocrat.com.