President Barack Obama was Tuesday to explain what his plan to reform the US healthcare system would mean for Americans who already have insurance amid a growing furor over his proposed changes.
Obama was scheduled to travel to Portsmouth, New Hampshire for what could be a rowdy "town hall"-style meeting at a time when some foes of his healthcare overhaul have shouted down lawmakers holding similar events around the country.
"He'll discuss what health insurance reform will mean for Americans who already have insurance, highlighting the consumer protections he laid out in recent weeks and focusing on ending denial of coverage based on preexisting conditions," an administration official said.
The US president was to be introduced by a self-employed widow who has been unable to get health insurance because she has Hepatitis C, a "preexisting condition" which many insurers use to deny patients coverage or offer it only at much costlier rates.
On Monday, Obama fought back against critics of his drive to remake US healthcare, but stopped well short of agreeing with top allies that outspoken foes of the plan were "un-American."
"We are having a vigorous debate in the United States and I think that's a healthy thing," Obama said as he attended his first North American summit in Guadalajara, Mexico, while US lawmakers were on a month-long August break.
"I suspect that once we get into the fall and people look at the actual legislation that's being proposed, that more sensible and reasoned arguments will emerge, and we're going to get this passed."
Some of the president's Democratic allies in Congress have alleged those boisterous displays are part of an orchestrated campaign of disinformation and intimidation aimed at cowing lawmakers out of backing his ambitious plan.
"Drowning out opposing views is simply un-American. Drowning out the facts is how we failed at this task for decades," Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer wrote in USA Today.
Asked whether Obama agreed, White House spokesman Bill Burton told reporters aboard the Air Force One presidential airplane that "there's actually a pretty long tradition of people shouting at politicians in America."
But "if you just want to come to a town hall so that you can disrupt and so that you can scream over another person, he doesn't think that that's productive," Burton said as Obama headed back to Washington.
"And as a country, we've been able to make progress when people actually talk out what our problems are, not try to shout each other down."
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AFP 110638 GMT 08 09
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