President Barack Obama is again heading West in hopes of winning support for his health reform push, The Associated Press reports.
"Democrats have made recent election inroads in the region by successfully courting independents, Republican crossovers and conservative-to-moderate loyalists in their own party. But it's these very voters — gun owners, civil libertarians, private property advocates — who seem to be turning away from the president across the country because of deep-seated concerns about expanding government and soaring budget deficits."
"Obama is hoping he can allay such worries as he promotes his plan at town hall-style events in reliably Republican areas: Friday in Bozeman, Mont., and Saturday in Grand Junction, Colo., near the Utah state line. The first family also plans to visit Yellowstone and Grand Canyon to highlight the country's national parks" (Sidoti and Wyatt, 8/14).
NPR reports that Grand Junction is the site of an innovative program for controlling health care costs, a program Obama will highlight as the type of change his push for reform aims for. Grand Junction's costs are about 30 percent below the national average, according to the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care, NPR reports (Horsley, 8/14).
The Los Angeles Times on Grand Junction: "The local HMO offers prenatal care to all women in the county. Doctors evaluate themselves partly on the cost-effectiveness of treatments they prescribe. Nurses often check on patients home from the hospital to help prevent relapses."