Health care reform was front and center the first time President Barack Obama addressed a joint session of Congress last year, but moved to the background in his latest address Wednesday night (Jan. 27) as he instead focused on jobs and the nation’s economy.

Barack Obama

In his first State of the Union address, the president acknowledged the work of the House and Senate to pass comprehensive health legislation in their respective chambers, while also noting the rancor that has developed as a result.

Prior to his address, both House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) stressed that health reform is coming, despite disagreements on the components of a single bill for the president’s signature.

President Obama echoed that sentiment, urging both sides of the aisle to “take another look at the plan we’ve proposed” and if another option exists to reduce premiums and the national deficit while strengthening Medicare and coverage, “let me know.”

“Here’s what I ask of Congress, though: Do not walk away from reform,” Obama said. “Not now. Not when we are so close. Let us find a way to come together and finish the job for the American people.”

Obama vowed to “not walk away” from Americans without insurance or rejected due to pre-existing conditions and said, “neither should the people in this chamber.”

Reform ‘a complex issue’

On the heels of the recent election of Republican Scott Brown to fill the seat of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, a Democrat from Massachusetts, thus eliminating a filibuster-proof Senate, the president noted the message Brown’s election sent to Washington, D.C., as well as the feelings of many Americans on health reform.

“This is a complex issue, and the longer it was debated, the more skeptical people became,” he said. “I take my share of the blame for not explaining it more clearly to the American people. And I know that with all the lobbying and horse-trading, this process left most Americans wondering what’s in it for them.”

He reiterated the parts of a comprehensive health bill he would endorse, but has yet to be agreed upon in full: choices for small businesses and the uninsured, coverage of preventative care and the reduction of costs and premiums for American families.

To reach that goal – and the others regarding jobs, education and financial reform laid out in his speech – the president called for greater unity in Washington, D.C. Pledging not to “give up on changing the tone of our politics,” Obama reminded Democrats of the large majority they hold and Republicans of their duties to enact change as well.

“If the Republican leadership is going to insist that sixty votes in the Senate are required to do any business at all in this town, then the responsibility to govern is now yours as well,” the president said. “Just saying no to everything may be good short-term politics, but it’s not leadership. We were sent here to serve our citizens, not our ambitions. So let’s show the American people that we can do it together.”

In the Republican response to the president’s State of the Union address, newly elected Gov. Bob McDonnell of Virginia echoed Obama’s sentiment that there is much “common ground,” but differences still remain in reforming health care.

McDonnell said most Americans “do not want to turn over the best medical care system in the world to the federal government,” referencing a public alternative to private health care, and that cutting costs can be attained.

“We will do that by implementing common sense reforms, like letting families and businesses buy health insurance policies across state lines, and ending frivolous lawsuits against doctors and hospitals that drive up the cost of your healthcare,” he said.

Focus on finances

Outside of health reform, the president also touched upon revamping the financial industry and aiding struggling Americans.

He praised the fact that “retirement funds are regaining value again” and the work of the White House’s Middle Class Task Force to make it easier to save for retirement “by giving every worker access to a retirement account and expanding the tax credit for those who start a nest egg.”

Obama also pledged to end capital gains taxes on small business investment and extend middle-class tax cuts while “we will not continue tax cuts for oil companies, investment fund managers and those making over $250,000 a year,” enacted under the Bush Administration.

“We just can’t afford it,” the president said.