When President Barack Obama speaks to a joint session of Congress Wednesday to outline his plan for overhauling the nation’s health-care system, many black Americans will also want to know how the president’s plans will impact their lives.

"Congress will be yearning for clear, plain-spoken definition and direction on health care reform - the American public will want that, too,” Charles D. Ellison, director of the Center for New Politics and Policy, told BlackAmericaWeb.com Tuesday. “He will need to perform a dramatic rhetorical pivot if he is to generate stronger support.” 

Obama is trying to get his health-care plan back on track after Republicans have successfully reframed the debate over the past few months, falsely claiming Obama’s plan will ultimately force Americans to pay more for health care and drop their health-care providers.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 46 million Americans are without health insurance. The Urban Institute estimates that 66 million Americans will be uninsured by 2019 - and many of these uninsured Americans are black.

For decades, studies have shown that poor people and minorities are more likely to live shorter, sicker lives and are less likely to survive a host of illnesses, including many cancers.

“There were eight questions that were asked in The Washington Post, and I think the president, in his address, should answer all of those questions,” Craig Kirby, a Democratic political strategist, told BlackAmericaWeb.com Tuesday.

Some of the Post questions included: If I don't have health insurance now, how will reform affect me? How much is reform likely to cost? I keep hearing about plans to create a "public option" or health insurance cooperatives. How would those work? What is likely to happen to my Medicare coverage under current proposals?

Many Democrats support the creation of a government-run program to compete with private insurers. Obama has often said he favors such a public option, but it’s unclear if the president would sign a bill without it.

“I want to applaud the president for taking decisive action this week to end the stalemate to reform our broken health care system,” Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) said in a statement Tuesday. “It is my hope that his speech will inspire Members of the House and Senate to place the needs of the American people above petty bickering and partisan obstructionism."

In an essay for The National Urban League, Dr. Darrell Gaskin, associate professor of health of economics at the University of Maryland, said that in order to eliminate inequity in the quality of healthcare treatment in U.S. healthcare system, racial disparities must be addressed.

Gaskin is calling for a more a comprehensive approach to eliminate racial disparities in health care, which includes the expansion of health care insurance coverage to uninsured and underserved African-American communities.

With the approximately 35-minute speech still being written, much by Obama himself, White House officials said the president will "answer all the major questions" — including the sticky issue of how to pay for getting coverage for the 50 million Americans who lack it.

"Everyone who listens will understand that his plan has at its core two overriding goals — to bring stability and security to Americans who have insurance today, and affordable coverage to those who don't," Obama senior adviser David Axelrod said.

It was unlikely that Obama would issue explicit veto threats, as he prefers to focus on what he is for rather than on what he will refuse to support, aides said. He also wasn't delivering a piece of legislation to Capitol Hill, where three House committees and one in the Senate already have devised their own, partisan versions.

A senior administration official said Obama has ceased worrying about whether .....

Please Login or Register to post comments on this article

Close Comment  |   Read More Comments Hide More Comments

Comments * :

Please do not enter the HTML tags(Maximum 600 characters).

NO MORE SPEECHES! SUBSTANCE AND SPECIFICS PLEASE.

by   
Natetwo
September 9, 2009, 4:55 pm
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I hope to see another speech like the one on Labor Day in da "Nati!! FIRED UP - is what he kept saying. Ha, little does he know in 2012 he will be FIRED UP!!! OB1 - quit loving every camera you have ever met. Quit giving useless speeches to kids who are sleeping or daydreaming. Please, just run the country.

by   
Pollypocket
September 9, 2009, 4:29 pm
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

W have already given the President an "A" in charisma and recognize that he is a gifted speaker. My God, enough of the speaches. As far as speaking with clarity on specific issues, he gets an "F" which is why his poll numbers are sinking.

by   
Natetwo
September 9, 2009, 2:03 pm
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Most Americancs want some type of reform just not the public option. He has given approximately 111 speaches on health care reform. Why does he think that speach number 112 will be any differently. He is not saying anything new. He wants a public option that will eventually morph into a single payer system. Most Americans have spoken clearly and don't want the President's version of health care reform.

by   
Natetwo
September 9, 2009, 1:57 pm
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My God man, where did you get this number at? This would be true if you said 75% of American's wanted healthcare, somehow you continue to make this inaccurate statement in the face of the truth, but this is not your job to point out the truth, therefore it is Obama's job to stand-up for what he stated and for what he knows to be the right thing to do........

by   
Wreeves
September 9, 2009, 9:57 am
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

He has been clear for the last 6 months. He wants "socialized" medicine. The problem is 76% Americans don't want it.

by   
Uncletom
September 9, 2009, 5:59 am
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------