VOA慢速英语2009年-IN THE NEWS - Health Reform Fight Heats Up

This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

This week, President Obama continued to push for health reform as debate over his plan intensified¹. He still wants legislation to sign into law by the end of the year. But he had to give up hope for both houses of Congress to pass bills before their August break.
　
Nurse Yaima Milian examines a patient at Baptist Health of South Florida in Miami

Health care is one-sixth of the economy. Yet an estimated forty-six million Americans are uninsured. The United States is the only major industrial country that does not guarantee health care for all. The government provides coverage² only for old people and the poor.

Most insured workers get their coverage through their jobs. But not all jobs offer insurance. And policies can be costly³ even when employers share the costs.

One proposal is to offer the choice of a government insurance plan that would compete with private insurers. Another proposal is to require employers with more than twenty-five workers to offer insurance or pay a penalty. Also, insurance companies could no longer deny coverage to people who are already sick.

President Obama wants to expand health coverage to all Americans and, at the same time, control costs. This week he completed six months in office. He held a nationally broadcast news conference Wednesday night that centered on health care. Why the hurry to pass a bill?

BARACK OBAMA: "If we do not control these costs, we will not be able to control our deficit⁴. If we do not reform health care, your premiums⁵ and out-of-pocket costs will continue to skyrocket. If we do not act, fourteen thousand Americans will continue to lose their health insurance every single day."
　
President Obama speaking about health care reform at a meeting in Shaker heights, Ohio

But the president faces resistance over the price of his plan, which could cost a trillion dollars over ten years. Also, opponents say the government might restrict people's health care. The president says the goal is for patients to get the best care, not just the most expensive care.

And he says it can all be done without adding to the federal budget deficit. He says about two-thirds of the cost can be paid for with money that is currently being "wasted," he says, in federal health care programs.

Congress will have to decide how to finance the remaining costs. But the president says he will not let health reform be paid for -- in his words -- "on the backs of middle-class families."

Higher-earning families are another issue. Proposals to raise their taxes to help pay for the plan face objections, and not just from the Republican minority in Congress. Critics include House Democrats⁶ newly elected from wealthier communities. And they include the Blue Dogs, a fifteen-year-old coalition⁷ of moderate and conservative Democrats in the House of Representatives.

Opinion polls show that the majority of Americans want health reform. Forty-four percent in a USA Today/Gallup Poll released this week approved of Barack Obama's handling of the issue. But fifty percent disapproved⁸.

Also, forty-nine percent disapproved of the president's handling of the economy. That was compared to an approval rate of fifty-five percent in May.

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. I'm Steve Ember.

1 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

3 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

4 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

5 premiums   

n.费用( premium的名词复数 )；保险费；额外费用；（商品定价、贷款利息等以外的）加价

参考例句：

• He paid premiums on his life insurance last year. 他去年付了人寿保险费。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Moves are afoot to increase car insurance premiums. 现正在酝酿提高汽车的保险费。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

8 disapproved   

v.不赞成( disapprove的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• My parents disapproved of my marriage. 我父母不赞成我的婚事。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She disapproved of her son's indiscriminate television viewing. 她不赞成儿子不加选择地收看电视。 来自《简明英汉词典》