COLLEGE PARK, MD. – President Obama “fired up” a largely student audience at the University of Maryland Comcast Center Thursday, trying to induce them to support his embattled health care reform plan.

“We need the voices of young people to stand up for this nation,” he said to cheers.

Obama’s health care proposals have been under fire from conservatives, including South Carolina Republican Rep. Joe Wilson, who interrupted the president’s speech before a joint session of Congress to call him a liar.

Critics charge that the president’s plans will cover illegal immigrants, fund abortions and put the government into unrecoverable debt.

At Maryland, Obama was drawn back to a core demographic critical to his political success.

Introducing the president was one of the young believers: Rachel Peck, a 20-year-old Maryland junior diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer during her freshman year.

“I ran for president because of people like Rachel,” Obama said.

Peck was covered by her parents’ insurance when her cancer struck, something she called “such an added bonus” that allowed her to get well and focus on her studies without having to worry about the cost of treatment.

But she said she worries about the day that she’ll have to get her own insurance.

“What happens if my cancer returns and I can’t pay for my radiation?” she asked the audience, and later urged them to “address health care reform now.”

“Young people, it’s about what kind of country you want to be,” the president said, adding that change will come if students get behind his plan.

Plan details

Obama then outlined his health care reform plan, tailoring his message to the needs and concerns of a younger audience. Many young adults, even those with insurance, struggle to pay their medical bills, he said, leaving them one accident or illness away from bankruptcy.

The president said for those who have health insurance, his plan will ensure more security because it will make it illegal for insurance companies to deny coverage for a pre-existing condition or to cap lifetime benefits.

Obama spoke directly to college students’ concerns, saying his plan would allow them to stay on their parents’ insurance until age 26.

That prompted an audience member to shout, “Thank you,” amid applause.

The president also talked about the importance of providing coverage to uninsured Americans, including a public option designed to provide a low-cost alternative to bring more choices to more people.

Obama said a public option does not mean a government takeover of the health care system, drawing a parallel to the marketplace of higher education: Both public and private universities are available to students, he said.

“No one says we’re taking over private colleges. What we’re doing is giving students a choice,” Obama said. “You should have a choice the same way in your health care.”

A final highlight of his plan focused on slowing “the growth of health care costs for our families and our businesses and our government.”

State politicians react

Top Maryland Democrats praised President Obama’s speech Thursday at the University of Maryland, saying his national health care plan would save the state money and boost the economy.

Republicans disagreed, saying Obama’s plans are vague and too costly.

Martin O'Malley

Minutes after the president spoke to a crowd of more than 12,000, the state’s Democratic governor spoke directly about the positive impact Obama’s health reform would have on the state.

“Until we get a handle on health care, we’re not going to be able to create as many jobs as we should and we’re not going to be able to get our budgets and our deficits in line,” Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley said. “There’s all sorts of things that we could and should be doing with the dollars that instead we’re wasting on a very inefficient health care system.”

State leaders are on the lookout for anything that might aid the budget.

Thursday in Annapolis the Board of Revenue Estimates predicted the state will have to cut an additional $233 million in order to balance its budget this fiscal year.

O’Malley identified health care as the biggest expense in the state budget and the one piece the state has the least control over, watching as costs rise 7% each year.

But Maryland Del. Anthony O’Donnell (R-Calvert and St. Mary’s) described O’Malley’s remarks as “platitudes.”

“The concepts that I’ve heard the president and [House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi and [Senate Majority Leader] Harry Reid offer seem very, very destructive and may end up bankrupting this country,” O’Donnell said.

Though Obama did not delve into specifics during his speech, both O’Malley and Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown lauded the president’s attempt to reach out to younger constituents as a strategy to rally support for health care legislation.

“There’s a lot of positive energy in the room,” Brown said. “When you’re talking about change, as the president is, and making a lot of bold steps on a lot of fronts, you need that positive energy. And students offer that.”

Other state Democrats also expressed strong support for the president’s health plan as a means to offer affordable insurance to all Americans.

“I think his message is we’re all in this together,” said U.S. Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Kensington).

One protester interrupted the president as he cited examples of Americans in debt because of incomplete coverage.

“Obama, you’re a liar. Obama, your health care kills children. Abortion is murder,” yelled Andrew Beacham, an intern with Operation Rescue Insurrecta Nex.

Audience members booed and threw objects in his direction. He was escorted out by University Police, as were two other counter-hecklers.

– Capital News Service