Obama Tries His Magic On Healthcare Reform

Published in El Mundo
(Spain) on 17 August 2009
by Editorial (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by William O'Brien. Edited by Christie Chu.
Facing death threats and opposition from insurance and pharmaceutical companies, the U.S. president struggles to realize the priority of his first year in office: the reform of the American healthcare system.

Critics are falling behind due to lack of leadership in the process as well as the bureaucratization of the same. Obama is putting a large portion of his credibility on the line for a project that his democratic predecessor, Bill Clinton, has already stumbled over.

The push for Obamacare claims “popular support” and assures us that his country is “closer than ever” to another historic change. What’s certain is that the plan to extend coverage to 46 million people - which shouldn’t be understood as the re-creation of European Social Security - is stuck in Congress.

It will be in September, with the return of camera activity, that he will face the test of fire. Meanwhile, Obama is shifting the debate to where he is more comfortable, with his feet on the ground, using testimonies (the death of his grandmother) that try to convince the U.S. that his reform does not contain measures in favor of abortion or euthanasia.


FRENTE A amenazas de muerte y a la oposición de compañías aseguradoras y farmacéuticas lucha el presidente de EEUU para materializar la prioridad de su primer año de mandato: la reforma del sistema de salud norteamericano. Atrás quedan las críticas por su falta de liderazgo en el proceso y la burocratización del mismo. Obama pone en liza gran parte de su crédito en un proyecto con el que ya tropezó su antecesor demócrata en la Casa Blanca, Bill Clinton. El impulsor del Obamacare reclama «respaldo popular» y asegura que su país está «más cerca que nunca» de obrar otro cambio histórico. Lo cierto es que el plan para ampliar la cobertura de 46 millones de personas, que no debe entenderse como la creación de una Seguridad Social a la europea, está bloqueado en el Congreso. Será en septiembre, con la vuelta de la actividad a la cámara, cuando afronte su prueba de fuego. Mientras, Obama resitúa el debate donde le es cómodo, a pie de calle, con testimonios (la muerte de su abuela) que tratan de convencer de que tras la reforma no hay medidas a favor del aborto o la eutanasia.
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