Healthcare an important topic in Obama's SOTU address
Healthcare was a major part of President Barack Obama's State of the Union address. He described the Affordable Care Act as part of the fabric of middle-class economic recovery as he spoke to a Republican-controlled Congress still working to dismantle the law.
Obama defended the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, citing the 10 million previously uninsured Americans and the decreasing level of uninsured since full implementation of the law.
"We can't put the security of families at risk by taking away their health insurance, or unraveling the new rules on Wall Street, or refighting past battles on immigration when we've got a system to fix," Obama said, speaking before a packed audience in the House chamber at the Capitol. "And if a bill comes to my desk that tries to do any of these things, it will earn my veto."
Obama also proposed the Precision Medicine Initiative to fight diseases such as cancer and diabetes, although he offered few specifics. "I want the country that eliminated polio and mapped the human genome to deliver a new era of medicine, one that delivers the right treatment at the right time." Acting director of the Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine, Richard Weinshilboum MD, is enthusiastic about the new initiative. "We are pleased and heartened that President Obama plans to increase federal funding for precision or individualized medicine, which Mayo Clinic views as integral to the future of healthcare. We eagerly await more details of the initiative and look forward to contributing however we can."
Obama also vowed to fix problems with healthcare delivery at the Veterans Health Administration, which has been marred by dysfunction, including waiting periods for treatment that routinely exceed guidelines. "Already, we've made strides towards ensuring that every veteran has access to the highest quality care," Obama said.
Obama defended the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, citing the 10 million previously uninsured Americans and the decreasing level of uninsured since full implementation of the law.
"We can't put the security of families at risk by taking away their health insurance, or unraveling the new rules on Wall Street, or refighting past battles on immigration when we've got a system to fix," Obama said, speaking before a packed audience in the House chamber at the Capitol. "And if a bill comes to my desk that tries to do any of these things, it will earn my veto."
Obama also proposed the Precision Medicine Initiative to fight diseases such as cancer and diabetes, although he offered few specifics. "I want the country that eliminated polio and mapped the human genome to deliver a new era of medicine, one that delivers the right treatment at the right time." Acting director of the Mayo Clinic Center for Individualized Medicine, Richard Weinshilboum MD, is enthusiastic about the new initiative. "We are pleased and heartened that President Obama plans to increase federal funding for precision or individualized medicine, which Mayo Clinic views as integral to the future of healthcare. We eagerly await more details of the initiative and look forward to contributing however we can."
Obama also vowed to fix problems with healthcare delivery at the Veterans Health Administration, which has been marred by dysfunction, including waiting periods for treatment that routinely exceed guidelines. "Already, we've made strides towards ensuring that every veteran has access to the highest quality care," Obama said.
Beth Walsh,
Editor
Editor Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in health communication. She has worked in hospital, academic and publishing settings over the past 20 years. Beth joined TriMed in 2005, as editor of CMIO and Clinical Innovation + Technology. When not covering all things related to health IT, she spends time with her husband and three children.