|
|
|
|
||
|
||
|
|
||
| SEARCH | SUBSCRIBE | ||
|
Obama Offers Universal Health Care Plan
May 29, 2007
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 for the wealthy that are scheduled to expire. President Bush wants to
make those cuts permanent.
"The time has come for universal, affordable health care in
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 record-keeping, 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.
|
