Barack Obama News Blog

Speaking to a crowd in Ohio this afternoon, President Obama spoke passionately about the reasons he is fighting so hard for health reform, and told the story of one of the countless Americans he is fighting for: Natoma Canfield, an Ohio woman without insurance who was diagnosed with leukemia last Saturday.

Natoma wrote a letter to the President last year, after she heard that her health insurance rates would be rising by 40%. Unable to pay for such an increase, Natoma’s last month with insurance was this January. Natoma had cancer 16-years ago, and hoped that she wouldn’t get sick again.

Last week, Natoma was rushed to the hospital, where after a series of tests she was diagnosed with leukemia. Still in the hospital today, she now faces more than a month of chemotherapy — along with worries about how she’ll pay for her treatment without insurance.

The President told the Ohio crowd:

“You want to know why I’m here, Ohio?  I’m here because of Natoma.  I’m here because of the countless others who have been forced to face the most terrifying challenges in their lives with the added burden of medical bills they can’t pay.  I don’t think that’s right.   Neither do you.  That’s why we need health insurance right now.  Health insurance reform right now.

I’m here because of my own mother’s story.  She died of cancer, and in the last six months of her life, she was on the phone in her hospital room arguing with insurance companies instead of focusing on getting well and spending time with her family.

I’m here because of the millions who are denied coverage because of preexisting conditions or dropped from coverage when they get sick.

I’m here because of the small businesses who are forced to choose between health care and hiring.

I’m here because of the seniors unable to afford the prescriptions that they need.

I’m here because of the folks seeing their premiums go up 20 and 30 and 40 and 50 and 60 percent in a year.

Ohio, I am here because that is not the America I believe in and that’s not the America that you believe in.”