Obama: Health Mandate Not a Tax Increase

(AP)  President Barack Obama says requiring people to get health insurance and fining them if they don't would not amount to a backhanded tax increase. "I absolutely reject that notion," the president said.

Blanketing most of the Sunday TV news shows, Obama defended his proposed health care overhaul, including a key point of the various health care bills on Capitol Hill: mandating that people get health insurance to share the cost burden fairly among all. Those who failed to get coverage would face financial penalties.

Obama said other elements of the plan would make insurance affordable for people, from a new comparison-shopping "exchange" to tax credits.

Telling people to get health insurance is absolutely not a tax increase, Obama told ABC's "This Week."

"What it's saying is, is that we're not going to have other people carrying your burdens for you anymore," said Obama. "Right now everybody in America, just about, has to get auto insurance. Nobody considers that a tax increase."

Obama faces an enormous political and communications challenge in selling his health care plan as Congress debates how to pay for it all.

He told CBS' "Face the Nation" that he will keep his pledge not to raise taxes on families earning up to $250,000, and that much of the final bill - hundreds of billions of dollars over the next 10 years - can be achieved from savings within the current system. Coming up with the rest remains a key legislative obstacle.

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele said there is no way Obama can achieve his goals without raising taxes.

"He has to. How else do you pay for it?" he told CBS.

Obama put his support behind the idea of taxing employers that offer high-cost insurance plans.

"I do think that giving a disincentive to insurance companies to offer Cadillac plans that don't make people healthier is part of the way that we're going to bring down health care costs for everybody over the long term," Obama said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

Obama's network interviews were taped Friday at the White House. He became the first president to appear on five Sunday network shows in the same morning, an extraordinary effort to build public support for his top domestic priority.

The goal is to expand and improve health insurance coverage and rein in long-term costs.

Yet despite so many weeks of speeches, town halls and interviews, Obama said he has found it difficult at times to make a complex topic clear and relevant.

"I've tried to keep it digestible," Obama said. "It's very hard for people to get their arms around it. And that's been a case where I have been humbled and I just keep on trying harder."

Obama told Univision's "Al Punto" ("To the Point") that the strong opposition to his plan is part of a political strategy.

"Well, part of it is ... that the opposition has made a decision," he said. "They are just not going to support anything, for political reasons."

Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said Obama doesn't understand Republicans' opposition.

"I don't know anybody in my Republican conference in the Senate who's in favor of doing nothing on health care," McConnell said. "We obviously have a cost problem and we have an access problem."

But he told CNN's "State of the Union" that the Democrats' plan is simply too rushed.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Obama has ignored grave concerns over his plan and his media blitz won't change that.

"The president is selling something that people, quite frankly, are not buying," Graham told NBC's "Meet the Press."

"He's been on everything but the Food Channel," he added.

[gboyd41]

This is splitting hairs. No matter what you call it, this is added $ that go into the Feds pocket, making it more of a dominant force day by day. Get ready for a limited state govt., and a much more powerful,"share the wealth govt." Problem is, if more people are on the "hands out list", those people paying for it just may decide on that"option".

[quapawsix]

Even with lipstick on it's still a pig. What happens to the people who really can't afford health care the choice between eating or paying the heating bill or an Insurance premium or the fine this administrations is talking about. And the Insurance companies only care about the bottom line and are not your friend.

[rhs648]

endurorob_4 - You may be asking too much of people. Too many people want the government to take care of them from cradle to death. This doesn't just apply to poor people. It applies to many people with high paying jobs as well. Many people have become spoiled by jobs that provide an abundance of benefits. My brother-in-law retired two years ago from a quasi-government position. He told me he is already receiving more in his pension than when he was working two years ago. When he was working, he still had a $5.00 co-payment on prescriptions and doctor visits by being grandfathered into an older health insurance plan paid for by his employer. Get the gist?

[mary-miami]

Yes...increase taxes on all making more than $200,000. a year...The Bush republicans gave too much favoritism to the rich and too many priviledges...There are millions of Americans without healthcare. It is a basic human right to be able to go to a doctor if needed, and that goes for dentist and optometrist, as well. We should have a national election and ask the American people, Yes or No, do you want free healthcare. This is a country, for the people, by the people...Most likely the majority will elect to have free healthcare.

[jsd330]

mary-miami Where does it say in any of the proposed bills anything about free health care?

[hungry1968-16]

by brian1920 September 20, 2009 7:46 PM EDT
Obama is lying yet again. He is now going to break his pledge of no new taxes on anybody making less than $250K. I am so sick of his deceptions, lies and speeches.






Yet ANOTHER one....

"Obama is going to......"

Nothing factual, just speculation and rumor mongering.

[hungry1968-16]

by hungry1968-16 September 21, 2009 9:58 AM EDT
by hungry1968-16 September 21, 2009 9:26 AM EDT

Now back to the ORIGINAL question: if the republicans REALLY believe that health care needs to be reformed, then WHY didn't they do something about it from 2001 - 2007, while they had control of the congress, senate, and the White House?







I'm STILL waiting ffoulkes-2009.

You can answer ANYTIME now.

Go ahead.

[ffoulkes-2009]

Your ORIGINAL question was answered. Your alternate question here doesn't deserve an answer as you will be just as dishonest with your response to it as you are to everything else.

[hungry1968-16]

by ffoulkes-2009 September 21, 2009 10:19 AM EDT
Actually, 1 year ago is before the crap hit the fan and the economy started to tank...thanks to the new dems in congress. The Bush years saw some of the greatest economic times ever, and it is overshadowed by stupidity on the consumer's and banker's parts.

You can't erase the good just to smear the bad.






The economic gains under Bush, were ALL built on false pretenses and scams. Those "greatest economic times ever" were built on AIG's "credit default swaps", and the housing market disaster caused by the republicans deregulation of 2000, and their ignoring their oversight responsibilities from 2002 - 2007 when all of those scams took place.


But do tell us, WHAT did the democrats do in 2007, that caused the market to crash?

And since it was the SCAMS of the early 2000's that blew up our economy in 2007 and 2008, perhaps you can tell us how the democrats time traveled back to 2002 and allowed that to happen "BEFORE their watch".

[ffoulkes-2009]

His gains were built on the SAME false pretenses and scams Clinton's were. The deregulation of 2000 was Clinton's. Come on, you gotta do better than that. Bush brought us out of another recession before this one ever hit.

[hungry1968-16]

by credibility2 September 21, 2009 10:05 AM EDT
..."read my lips, no new taxes..." Another fabrication and lie from the mouth of the president. The president's programs will cost the middle class more in order to support all of these giveaways in the form of higher taxes. Anyone who believes otherwise isn't very familiar with the way politicians, regardless of party affiiliation, operate.






Yet another one....

"Obama's plan is GOING TO....."

Nothing but speculation and guessing.

Nothing factual or concrete to base this comment on, but that doesn't stop him from posting.

When are you conservatives going to READ THE BILL, and post on what's actually in it, instead of predicting "worst case scenarios" based on Fox News inspired lies and rumors?

[hungry1968-16]

by ffoulkes-2009 September 21, 2009 10:06 AM EDT
You do love jumping to the past, don't you. The present is much too painful for you, isn't it?






How does my comment about Rowdy's speculation about the future, translate into a post about the here and now?

BTW, the here and now is 100 times better than one year ago.

[ffoulkes-2009]

Actually, 1 year ago is before the crap hit the fan and the economy started to tank...thanks to the new dems in congress. The Bush years saw some of the greatest economic times ever, and it is overshadowed by stupidity on the consumer's and banker's parts.

You can't erase the good just to smear the bad.

[credibility2]

..."read my lips, no new taxes..." Another fabrication and lie from the mouth of the president. The president's programs will cost the middle class more in order to support all of these giveaways in the form of higher taxes. Anyone who believes otherwise isn't very familiar with the way politicians, regardless of party affiiliation, operate.