| 9/10/2009 3:00:00 PM | Email this article • Print this article |
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| Baron Hill |
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Hill: Status quo must change
Peggy Vlerebome
Courier Staff Writer
U.S. Rep. Baron Hill liked what he heard from President Barack Obama on Wednesday, and hopes it is the impetus for finally getting a health care law.
"I hope the speech will reinvigorate the members of Congress and the public why we need to do this," Hill, D-Indiana, said after the speech.
Obama proposed a few new aspects for a health care bill.
One of the new ideas was a fee on insurance companies for their most expensive policies. Saying that such a fee would be "reasonable" because insurance companies would gain millions of new customers if coverage of everyone became a requirement, Hill said the fee idea was "interesting."
"I want to know more about it in detail," said Hill, who represents Indiana's 9th Congressional District.
He said he also liked the idea first proposed by Republican Sen. John McCain during the presidential campaign of making available immediate, low-cost coverage for people who cannot afford insurance, as a bridge until a proposed insurance exchange is in place in four years.
"Any way we can make that happen, I am open to," Hill said.
Obama made McCain's idea part of his plan, and credited his former opponent with the idea during his speech.
Obama said and then repeated that his health care reform plan, which incorporates many of the provisions of legislation already before Congress, would not increase the deficit. That resonated with Hill, who is a member of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats in the House.
"For a Blue Dog like me, and all the Blue Dogs, that's a very important component of his proposal," Hill said.
Hill said he also liked how Obama "reached out to both Democrats and Republicans."
From his vantage point on the House floor, where Obama spoke to a joint session of Congress, Hill could see who stood and who sat during more than two dozen standing ovations.
One of the rumors Obama debunked was opponents' saying there would be "death panels," allegations the president called "bogus claims" that were "cynical, irresponsible. It is a lie, plain and simple."
Democrats rose, applauding. Most Republicans did not, "which was disappointing to me," Hill said.
But one of the Republicans standing and applauding Obama's tough talking was a fellow Hoosier, U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar. "I was very proud of him," Hill said.
Hill said "now is the hard part" as Congress fleshes out what Obama outlined and tries to make a bill that both houses can support.
Obama's overall message is one Hill said he shares.
"I think what he's saying is the status quo has to change," Hill said. "I've adopted that as my mantle as well. ... Every single time I return to Indiana, people talk about health care. It's time to act, not give in to these rumors. ... It's time to get it done."
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