WASHINGTON — Hawai'i's congressional delegation stood firmly behind President Obama yesterday as he exhorted lawmakers to break through decades of stagnation and reform health care.

Veteran Democratic Sen. Daniel K. Inouye has seen 50 years of attempted health care reform, and the acrimonious debate over the past few months was starting to seem like deja vu.

"I think this perked us all up," he said of Obama's 50-minute speech to a rare joint session of Congress. "I'm confident now — I think we can get this done."

Obama's speech came as lawmakers prepare for a fall showdown over a handful of health care plans that have bitterly divided Capitol Hill.

Hawai'i's lawmakers noted that specific provisions in some of those bills could directly affect the state, and need to be carefully watched.

State laws that secure employer-provided insurance — which have made Hawai'i one of the most medically insured states in the country — need to stay in place as national health reform goes forward, said Democratic Rep. Mazie Hirono.

About 93 percent of Hawai'i residents with private insurance are covered through work, while in some states that's as low as 60 percent.

An amendment by Hirono to the health care reform legislation now making its way through the House would ensure that national reform would not weaken Hawai'i's insurance structure.

Specifically, Hirono's amendment would protect Hawai'i's Prepaid Health Care Act, passed in 1974. That law requires that employers provide health care coverage to employees who work at least 20 hours a week for four consecutive weeks.

"I am fully committed to keeping this amendment intact throughout the legislative process," Hirono said last night.

Sen. Daniel K. Akaka said, "We need to build on the most effective existing federal and state health programs and preserve employer-provided health insurance."

Democratic Rep. Neil Abercrombie, who is running for governor, said he was confident that once health care legislation eventually emerges it would contain some form of a "public option," essentially government-run insurance to compete with the private sector.

Fiscally conservative Democrats and virtually all Republicans strongly oppose a government-run insurance plan.

Still, Abercrombie said, "I strongly believe we will have a public option, but what constitutes that public option will be shaped in the days to come."