Huffington Post's current Home Page story.
If President Barack Obama is able to get health care reform enacted into law, it could have as much to do with a once-obscure woman from Ohio as with any particular lobbying effort or legislative strategy.
On Monday, the president gave his 53rd national health care related address in Strongsville, Ohio, imploring lawmakers back in Washington to follow through on his prescription for reform. Part of the pitch involved explaining the technical and legal aspects of the legislation. The emotional nuggets -- the ones designed to tug on the heartstrings of those watching -- dealt with the story of Natoma Canfield, a 50-year-old cancer survivor from nearby Medina who had written the White House in late December about her inability to afford insurance.
Canfield, whose premiums were set to rise 40 percent in 2010 after a 25 percent increase in 2009, has already been held up by the president as an exemplar of the need for insurance market reform. The president read her letter to a gathering of private insurance executives weeks back and referenced it again during the bipartisan summit with lawmakers soon thereafter.
On Monday, her story was to be elevated even further. White House officials had reached out to Canfield last week and asked her to introduce Obama to the stage. But days after the White House made the offer for the introductory slot, Canfield collapsed. Taken to an emergency room for tests, she was diagnosed with leukemia. Unable to be Obama's opening act (her sister Connie Anderson took the spot), Canfield remained at the epicenter of the speech and the broader debate itself.
"The reason Natoma is not here today is that she's lying in a hospital bed, suddenly faced with this emergency - suddenly thrust into a fight for her life. She expects to face a month or more of aggressive chemotherapy. And she is racked with worry not only about her illness but about the cost of the tests and treatments she will surely need to beat it," Obama declared, according to the prepared remarks. "I'm here because of Natoma."On a conference call with activists before the speech, White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett recounted Canfield's story and explained why exactly, the president was drawn to her story. "He is highlighting her today because he is hoping to really appela to the humanity in each of us," Jarrett said.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/15/health-care-the-final-wee_n_499318.html
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