Obama Backs Health Care For America Now

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) has signed on to the progressive Health Care for America Now campaign’s principles – a move that bolsters the clout of the nascent organization and could provide him with artillery support as he starts to pound the health-care issue on the presidential campaign trail.

With the $700-billion economic recovery bill now law, Obama has turned his sights on health care. This weekend, he delivered a health-care reform speech in Virginia and launched an ad critical of McCain’s health reform plan. Health Care for America’s announcement adds more amps to an emerging campaign theme.  

Obama’s endorsement of the group’s principles is not altogether surprising. They closely mirror Obama’s health-reform platform. Health Care for America’s principles were based on the proposal of University of California at Berkeley political scenic professor Jacob Hacker, who’s also advised Obama.

"Ensuring Americans in Illinois and across the country have access to affordable, comprehensive health-care coverage is one of my top priorities," Obama said in a statement released by the group.  "We must do everything we can to expand healthcare access, lower drug costs, and improve quality of care for working families, seniors, and children.  I am proud to join HCAN's efforts to tackle the tough challenges we face in reforming our nation's healthcare system."

Including Obama, the coalition of more than 275 organizations has collected the signatures of about 75 lawmakers for guaranteed, affordable care that would insurance company regulations.

"Health Care for America Now's goal this year is to get the next president and a majority of Congress committed to the principles of quality, affordable health care for all and opposed to policies that would tax our benefits at work and leave us on our own with the unregulated, bureaucratic private insurance industry," said the group’s campaign manager Richard Kirsch in a statement.