President Barack Obama is again urging the country to get behind his plan for health care reform. During a prime time news conference, President Obama told the nation he wants all Americans to have access to affordable health care.
President Obama said his idea would allow people to keep their current plans and workers could take insurance with them if they switched jobs. He said health reform is key to economic recovery, however, several Bakersfield residents and even a doctor question where the money is going to come from.
Eddy Vijil is just one of 47 million Americans who are uninsured. "There's a lot of stages to go through just to get insured and it's really expensive," Vijil said.
For 18 years, Vijil has lived without health insurance and deals with illnesses without a doctor or medication.
"I had a fever, like really high," Vijil said recounting a recent battle he had with an infection. "I needed special care but I had to rough it out at home. It's too expensive to go to the hospital."
President Obama's new plan could help people like Vijil needing care. The president said insured Americans will be able keep their current health plans, but Barbara Smith who has insurance is skeptical.
"If somebody needs medical, they can usually get help," Smith told 17 News as she was waiting in the lobby at San Joaquin Community Hospital. "If we change it, it's going to lower our quality."
San JoaquinCommunity Hospital President, Bob Beehler questioned the cost and the timing of health reform.
"We have to come up with a solution so health care doesn't bankrupt America," Beehler said. "These are important issues and they need to be solved. Whether they need to be solved in the middle of economic chaos, I'm not sure."
However, Bob O'Keefe of Bakersfield Family Medical Center says the plan will pay for itself.
"Much of that coverage will allow for much better coverage for prevention and wellness and certainly much more access to primary care," O'Keefe said. "As opposed to the way it is now where uninsured Americans who have the flu or sore throats or colds, go to the emergency room."
President Obama has been meeting privately with health industry executives for several months and wants congress to vote on a health care plan before august recess.
