Locals respond to Obama's health care plan

<p>When President Barack Obama pitched his broad health care overhaul plan Wednesday night, he acknowledged that many Americans are "understandably queasy" at the costs.</p><!-- Nothing to do. The paragraph has already been output --><p>Among them was Mike Harris, a Petaluma City Council member and former chair of Sonoma County's Republican Party.</p><p>"He's trying to reorganize one-sixth of our economy in a couple months," Harris said of Obama. "He isn't reaching out to businesses to find a middle ground."</p><p>Obama has directed Congress to pass health care legislation before their August holiday.</p><p>While Harris balked at Obama's announced timeline, some North Coast health care leaders applauded the attempt, exhibiting none of the queasiness Obama anticipated.</p><p>"Setting a date to complete this is critical. I really like that he is setting time goals," said Kathryn Powell, CEO of Petaluma Health Center. "We have waited long enough and have spent a lot of time trying to fix the system, but we haven't gotten anywhere. We need to think of new ways."</p><p>Dr. Gary Greensweig, medical director at St. Joseph Health System's Memorial Hospital, said a total overhaul of the system by the August deadline is a tall order, but that pieces of reform could be put into place before then.</p><p>"Congress has made some progress," he said. "But the larger restructuring is not going to happen by August."</p><p>Greensweig said addressing health care is the "next phase" in addressing the nation's struggling economy.</p><p>"Unless we fix this and slow the rate of health care spending, (consumers') normal standard of living will be dramatically reduced because of what the nation will have to spend on health care and not other benefits," Greensweig said.</p><p>For these heath care leaders, the pressure of a timeline is a reflection of the necessity of finding a solution quickly.</p><p>"Health care reform is essential. For our economy to survive, health care reform is essential. (Obama) is taking this seriously," said family medicine doctor and president of the Sonoma County Medical Association Catherine Gutfreund.</p><p>Of Obama's prime-time address, she said, "One always hopes for more details but I think it will all be forthcoming."</p><p>Obama's key points in his address -- promoting cost-effective treatments over heavily marketed ones, promoting family doctors and preventative medicine and using information technologies to coordinate care -- are among the changes Powell, Greensweig and Gutfreund said would be the most effective in making health care accesible and affordable for the American public.</p><p>"Keeping people healthy, preventing them from getting sick, and limiting the time they are sick, helps the economy tremendously," Powell said.</p><p>Harris, however, disagreed.</p><p>"It's good to have the discussion about health care," he said. "But we should be more focused on getting people jobs. If they have jobs they can have health care."</p><p>You can reach Staff Writer Laura Norton at 521-5220 or Laura.norton@pressdemocrat.</p><p>com.</p>