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Obama Unveils Universal Health Care Plan
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Tuesday offered a sweeping health care plan that would provide every citizen a means for coverage and calls on government, businesses and consumers to share the costs of the program.
Obama said his plan could save the average consumer $2,500 a year and bring health care to all. Campaign aides estimated the cost of the program at $50 billion to $65 billion a year, financed largely by eliminating tax cuts that are scheduled to expire. President Bush wants to make those cuts permanent.
"The time has come for universal, affordable health care in America," Obama said in a speech in Iowa City, at the University of Iowa's medical school.
While Obama's plan is aimed at expanding coverage, he said cutting costs was also essential.
"We have reached a point in this country where the rising costs of health care has put too many families and businesses on a collision course with financial ruin and left too many with no coverage at all," Obama said. "This cost crisis is trapping us in a vicious cycle."
Obama's plan retains the private insurance system but injects additional money to pay for expanding coverage. It would also create a National Health Insurance Exchange to monitor insurance companies in offering the coverage.
Those who can't afford coverage would get a subsidy on a sliding scale depending on their income, and virtually all businesses would have to share in the cost of coverage for their workers. The plan is similar to the one covering members of Congress.
Obama's package would prohibit insurance companies from refusing coverage because of pre-existing conditions.
The plan doesn't have the mandate that rival Democratic candidate John Edwards is proposing to ensure that all Americans get coverage. The 2004 Democratic vice presidential nominee would require everyone to have health insurance, much like state requirements for auto insurance for every driver. Both candidates would require businesses to help cover their workers.
New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who oversaw a massive but unsuccessful project to overhaul the nation's health care system while she was first lady, has promised universal health care but has yet to provide specifics.
"My plan begins by covering every American. If you already have health insurance, the only thing that will change for you under this plan is that the amount of money you will spend on premiums will be less," Obama said. "If you are one of 45 million Americans who don't have health insurance, you will after this plan becomes law."
Obama also called for a series of steps to overhaul the current health care system. He would spend more money boosting technology in the health industry such as electronic recordkeeping, put in place better management for chronic diseases and create a reinsurance pool for catastrophic illnesses to take the burden of their costs off of other premium payers.
His plan also envisions savings from ending the expensive care for the uninsured when they get sick. That care now is often provided at emergency rooms. The plan also would put a heavy focus on preventing disease through lifestyle changes.
Obama conceded that the overall cost of the program would be high.
"To help pay for this, we will ask all but the smallest businesses who don't make a meaningful contribution to the health coverage of their workers to do so to support this plan," said Obama. "And we also will repeal the temporary Bush tax cut for the wealthiest taxpayers."
Unveiling the proposal marks a crucial step for Obama. Serving in his first term as a senator, Obama often is criticized as not having the experience to be a serious candidate for the party's nomination.
Some also see him as offering more style than substance, and he's clearly hoping that spelling out a detailed plan to offer health care for all will deflect those criticisms. Polls also have shown that voters rank health care as among their top concerns.
© 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Obama said his plan could save the average consumer $2,500 a year and bring health care to all. Campaign aides estimated the cost of the program at $50 billion to $65 billion a year, financed largely by eliminating tax cuts that are scheduled to expire. President Bush wants to make those cuts permanent.
"The time has come for universal, affordable health care in America," Obama said in a speech in Iowa City, at the University of Iowa's medical school.
While Obama's plan is aimed at expanding coverage, he said cutting costs was also essential.
"We have reached a point in this country where the rising costs of health care has put too many families and businesses on a collision course with financial ruin and left too many with no coverage at all," Obama said. "This cost crisis is trapping us in a vicious cycle."
Obama's plan retains the private insurance system but injects additional money to pay for expanding coverage. It would also create a National Health Insurance Exchange to monitor insurance companies in offering the coverage.
Those who can't afford coverage would get a subsidy on a sliding scale depending on their income, and virtually all businesses would have to share in the cost of coverage for their workers. The plan is similar to the one covering members of Congress.
Obama's package would prohibit insurance companies from refusing coverage because of pre-existing conditions.
The plan doesn't have the mandate that rival Democratic candidate John Edwards is proposing to ensure that all Americans get coverage. The 2004 Democratic vice presidential nominee would require everyone to have health insurance, much like state requirements for auto insurance for every driver. Both candidates would require businesses to help cover their workers.
New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who oversaw a massive but unsuccessful project to overhaul the nation's health care system while she was first lady, has promised universal health care but has yet to provide specifics.
"My plan begins by covering every American. If you already have health insurance, the only thing that will change for you under this plan is that the amount of money you will spend on premiums will be less," Obama said. "If you are one of 45 million Americans who don't have health insurance, you will after this plan becomes law."
Obama also called for a series of steps to overhaul the current health care system. He would spend more money boosting technology in the health industry such as electronic recordkeeping, put in place better management for chronic diseases and create a reinsurance pool for catastrophic illnesses to take the burden of their costs off of other premium payers.
His plan also envisions savings from ending the expensive care for the uninsured when they get sick. That care now is often provided at emergency rooms. The plan also would put a heavy focus on preventing disease through lifestyle changes.
Obama conceded that the overall cost of the program would be high.
"To help pay for this, we will ask all but the smallest businesses who don't make a meaningful contribution to the health coverage of their workers to do so to support this plan," said Obama. "And we also will repeal the temporary Bush tax cut for the wealthiest taxpayers."
Unveiling the proposal marks a crucial step for Obama. Serving in his first term as a senator, Obama often is criticized as not having the experience to be a serious candidate for the party's nomination.
Some also see him as offering more style than substance, and he's clearly hoping that spelling out a detailed plan to offer health care for all will deflect those criticisms. Polls also have shown that voters rank health care as among their top concerns.
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this very Bad for all of us because they don't get regular health check ups"
so what happens" when they get sick? they end up in the emergency room this happen to my brother" it cost 60,000 dollars" to save his life he got a spider bite" he is a young 45 year old man guess" what he does not have 60,000 bucks" and if you looked at his hospital bill and what they charge him they are cut throat basterds" 20bucks for two advil for example
I'm happy to see greedy s.o.b people finaly getting what they deserve the
Me" Me" is over people work togather help one another .
as for insurance companys I won't name the one I got into a very heated argumnet with but I told you so" the unemployement line is calling your evil name I hope you suffer like you made my grandmother suffer her last days. if I were the government I would not mess with the American people anymore we are so" so" pist we are a strong people other country's call us cowards there is a reason why America is America the land of the free
we would all die before we would let anyone take away are rights look at the streets of Iran for example if that happened here in America it would be war" the can of woop ass would be openend so
give Obama a chance do not fear some take over of our rights we the people will not let it happen we the people have the real power" not our goverment do not forget this" if we all stayed home from work one day:)
see now thats power they cannot control us so give are president a chance
if he screws us we just fire him he is suppose to speak for us he works for us let him do his job" godbless you all
Who should have our medical records and be the single payer? The government is the only enetity that can get the providers to toe the line for the consumers. Is it any better for the insurance companies to have our private records. All they'll do is claim everything is a prior condition that they don't have to pay for.
Afterall, do you really want George Bush having access to all of your mammagrams,PAPP smears, and prostate exams????
...
Afterall, do you really want George Bush having access to all of your mammagrams,PAPP smears, and prostate exams????
...
Afterall, do you really want George Bush having access to all of your mammagrams,PAPP smears, and prostate exams????
...
When we had this debate in the 1990s the private healthcare industry insisted they could do a better job of providing care to the uninsured than the government. Has that happened?
Most uninsured people have jobs already but don't make enough to afford the premiums.
The premiums are high because of the limitless greed of the private sector and the inefficiencies that result from no overall management of the resources in the system. In some cases, you have 5-6 Hospitals in the same area all with expensive MRI machines when 1 would be sufficient to meet patient demand. Those paying the premiums pay for a lot of unecessary costs that the providers have no incentive to eliminate. Not to mention all the duplication in paperwork and salary for duplicate paper shuffling.
Simply capping the drug company profits at a reasonable rate of profit could save consumers billions.
The massive opportunities for cost savings means that coverage expansion doesn't have to mean higher individual taxes, particularly if everyone is paying in.
It's the private sector that's failed in providing quality healthcare to all. Those making the money off the current system will throw out lots of scare tactics, but that's the bottom line-they haven't produced a system that meets the demand.
Well this afternoon, I was asked by (actually yelled at by) my 83 year old boss that "Universal health care will skyrocket taxes- who's gonna pay for it?"
I didn't really have an answer for this since I'd never take a politician's promises as sign taxes wouldn't go up. "Read my lips"- yea right!
But later I had to ask myself a question:
If it meant that the uninsured had some basic health care without facing financial ruin through anything catastrophic- then YES... I'm willing to pay higher taxes.
In fact I'd do it enthusiastically.
So the answer to my boss' question is simply "me, I'm going to pay for it". Considering how I'm paying for unpaid medical care for the uninsured through high medical costs, and higher insurance rates for the same reason- this is a deal.
Then with the unpaid medical costs for the uninsured recovered- the free market can work to reduce insurance costs through the recovery of costs associated with the uninsured now having a payer.
It also helps economically/socially/and on the bankruptcy front since no one will have an unpaid bill.
I'm all in.