THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2010


KLMNO


EZ SU POLITICS & THE NATION Obama returns to stump for health care


6MONTHS SINCE LAWPASSED


Gathering highlights


early consumer benefits BY N.C. AIZENMAN


AND ANNE E. KORNBLUT Six rocky months after win-


ning passage of the landmark health-care law, President Obama celebrated the half-year mark by holding a sunny back- yard get-together in the Virginia suburbs with a sampling of Americans fromacross the coun- try who he said are already bene- fitting. The folksy televised gathering


on the back patio of the Falls Church home of Paul and Frances Brayshaw — complete with a pitcher of lemonade in the back- ground—was an unusually high- profile plug for an accomplish- ment many Democrats on the ballot in November rarely men- tion.With polls showing the pub- lic ambivalent about the law, and Democrats in some districts tak- ing a beating for supporting it, many prefer to keep the focus on jobs and other economic issues. The president, too, seemed


keen to counter the belief of some that health care distracted him from what many voters view as the most pressing concern: turn- ing around the economy. “Obviously, the economy has


been uppermost in our minds,” began Obama, speaking in his shirt sleeves to about two dozen people seated in a semicircle around him. “So much of our focus day to day is trying to figure out how do we just make sure that this recovery thatwe’re slow- ly on starts accelerating in a way that helps folks all across the country.” But he argued that addressing


the high cost and limited accessi- bility of health care was just as fundamental to the nation’s fiscal health.


DIGEST FLORIDA


State to disregard ban on adoptions by gays Florida will immediately stop


enforcing its ban on adoptions by gay people in light of a decision Wednesday by a state appeals court that the three-decade-old law is unconstitutional, said Gov. CharlieCrist (I). The 3rd District Court of Ap-


peal upheld a 2008 ruling by a Miami-Dade County judge, who found “no rational basis” for the banwhen she approved the adop- tionof twoyoungbrothersbyMar- tinGill andhismalepartner. The court’s decision is not the


finalword on the law.Gill and the American Civil Liberties Union, which represented him and his partner,want the state to take the case to theFlorida SupremeCourt to obtain a final statewide deter- minationonthe law. Theprohibitionwas first enact-


ed in 1977 and is the only lawof its kind in the nation, according to court records. Arkansas andUtah bananyunmarriedcouples,gayor straight, from adopting or foster- ing children.Mississippi bans gay couples, but not single gays, from adopting.


—AssociatedPress MARVIN JOSEPH/THE WASHINGTON POST


At a gathering in Falls Church to celebrate the health-care law, President Obama invites JimHouser, owner ofHawthorne Auto Clinic in Portland, Ore., to discuss how he pays the full cost of health-care coverage for his business’s 15 employees.


“The single biggest driver of


our deficit is the ever-escalating costs of health care. . . . It was bankrupting families, companies and our government.” While it will take years to


determine whether the law suc- ceeds in curbing those trends, Obama also used the example of several members of the audience brought in by theWhiteHouse to highlight early consumer protec- tions that kick in Thursday. These include a cap on lifetime


limits onthe insured and require- ments that insurers fully cover children with preexisting condi- tions and allow dependents to stay on their parents’ insurance until age 26. Dawn Josephson of Jackson-


ville, Fla., whose son had surgery last year because of a serious eye


condition, described her relief on learning that the new, more af- fordable health insurance plan she recently purchased would be obligated to pay for the future surgeries he is likely to need. “It’s really made our lives so


much less stressful,” she said. Gail O’Brien, a teacher at a


Montessori school from Keene, N.H., whose employer does not offer insurance, spoke of her an- guish on receiving a diagnosis of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma this year — followed by her emotion on learning that she could apply to one of the new state-based “high-risk” pools the law estab- lished for peoplewith preexisting conditions. “You don’t know how this has


changed my life,” said O’Brien, whowore a blue scarf to cover the


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hair she has lost through cancer treatments. The American public as a


whole is proving a harder sell. In a Kaiser health tracking poll last month, 43 percent of Americans said they had favorable impres- sions of the new law and 45 percent held unfavorable ones, numbers virtually identical to what they were in May. In an Associated Press poll released last week, 41 percent said they support the health-care reforms, matching the number backing the bill onthe eve of its passage in March. Obama took some responsibil-


ity, at one point saying: “Some- times I faultmyself fornothaving been able to make the case more clearly to the country.” Despite the political risks of


trying to do so now,WhiteHouse officials said they think they have no choice but to embrace a bill they engineered — and which could eventually provide an opening as voters start to feel its effects. They also think that Republi-


cans may overreach on the issue, especiallywith their recent decla- rations that theywillwork to peel back as much of the law as possible. Democrats argue that while voters may be skeptical about howthe billwillwork, they don’t want it to be repealed before it has been given a chance. Obama added: “Iwant themto


look you in the eye and say, ‘Sorry, Gail, you can’t buy health insur- ance.’ ”


aizenmann@washpost.com kornbluta@washpost.com


SOUTHCAROLINA


2nd student is asked about pipe bombs The principal of a South Caroli-


na high school where pipe bombs were discovered and disarmed confirmed Wednesday that a sec- ondstudentwasbeingquestioned inthe incident. Police released that student to


his parents after interviewing him, SocasteeHigh School Princi- palPaulBrowning said. Another student remains in


custody and is expected in court Friday. Prosecutor Greg Hembree saidhe intends to charge the teen- agerwithattemptedmurder. Police discovered the explosive


devices Tuesday after the student confronted an on-campus officer andfireda gunbeforebeing taken into custody,police said. —AssociatedPress


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