PORTLAND — With an exuberance rarely seen since his campaign trail days, President Barack Obama regaled a large crowd at the Portland Exposition Center Thursday with the details of the new health care bill, which was passed by Congress last week.
The energy was high, not only for Obama and his throng of supporters, but also for those who lined the street to protest the new health care legislation.
Many times during his speech at the crowded Expo, the cheers and chants of “Yes we did” were deafening.
“Last week, after a year of debate and a century of trying, health insurance reform became the law of the land,” he said, to a response of lengthy, resounding cheers.
Outside, before and after the speech, the enthusiasm of those who do not support the new health care legislation was just as high.
“I’m very upset about the health care bill,” said Saco resident Lynn McArdle, who had come to protest on her own, displaying a “Repeal Obamacare” sign. McArdle said she has never taken part in a protest, but felt it was important to share her views Thursday. She cited a lack of transparency to the process of passing the bill, inclusion of funding for “pet projects” of Democratic senators and reduced Medicare benefits.
“I think Obama is probably a good person, but it’s his motives I question,” she said.
Several others who disapprove of the health care bill also protested, some ringing bells to symbolize “freedom ringing,” according to Chris Cinquemani of the Maine Heritage Policy Center of Portland.
The Policy Center was circulating a petition amongst the crowd that asks Attorney General Janet Mills to join a lawsuit challenging the health care bill as unconstitutional, said Cinquemani.
“We’re here to send a message to the president that we’re not going to be fooled and we’re not going to be silenced,” he said. “This (health care legislation) is a takeover by the government.”
Other signs displayed by protesters included: “Health care: Buy it or else” and “Obama’s Change = Marxism.” Those were mixed in with a few signs of Obama supporters, many of which included the words, “Thank you.”
In his speech, Obama delineated some of the immediate effects of the legislation, including a tax credit to small businesses that offer health insurance. He also highlighted the new restrictions on insurance companies that prohibit them from denying coverage due to a pre-existing condition, dropping coverage during ill health or enforcing a lifetime coverage limit.
When speaking about the coverage limit, Obama cited the situation of Theresa and the late Rocky D’Andrea of Limerick, whose story appeared in Thursday’s Journal Tribune. The couple were left in debt when Rocky was fighting cancer and found their insurance had capped out. The couple had addressed the Maine legislature about the need to eliminate insurance coverage caps.
“Because of this reform, a situation like Theresa’s will never happen again in the United States of America ”“ starting this year,” said Obama, singling Theresa out for applause from the crowd.
The health care legislation will also include free preventative care and the option for children to stay on their parent’s health insurance until age 26 beginning this year, as well as giving senior citizens $250 to help pay for prescriptions, he said. Further reforms are scheduled to be instated within the next four years, per the legislation, including an insurance “exchange” that is meant to give consumers more options and make it easier and cheaper to purchase health insurance.
“Leaders of the Republican Party have actually been calling the passage of this bill ”˜Armageddon,’” he told the crowd. “They say it’s the end of freedom as we know it. So after I signed the bill, I looked up to see if there were any asteroids headed our way. I checked to see if any cracks had opened up in the ground. But you know what? It turned out to be a pretty nice day. ”¦ Nobody lost their doctor, or was forced into some government plan.”
Obama referred to Maine Democratic Reps. Chellie Pingree and Mike Michaud as “great champions” of the health care bill.
“Because of folks like Chellie and Mike, it happened,” he said.
York County Democratic Committee Chairman David Schofield, who was in attendance Thursday, along with several volunteers from the committee, said, “It’s good that he’s recognizing Chellie and Mike.
“Maine has always been a big Democratic base of support for the last 10 years, and it’s important that he’s reaching out to all different parts of the country and thanking those who supported him.”
Obama also noted the contributions of U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, “who spent many hours meeting with me about this bill.”
Though Snowe has said she supports the regulations the legislation places on the insurance industry, she eventually voted against it due to concerns about the shortened voting process, increased capital gains taxes and penalty fees for small businesses.
— City Editor Kristen Schulze Muszynski can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 322 or kristenm@journaltribune.com.
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