President Obama announced last night that the Senate Finance Committee would move forward on health care reform starting next week. The President laid out his health care reform plan in a televised speech in front of a joint session of Congress.
Obama says his plan will “provide more security and stability to those who have health insurance. It will provide insurance to those who don’t. And it will slow the growth of health care costs for our families, our businesses, and our government.”
The plan will build on existing systems instead of overhauling into a single-payer system like Canada’s, as suggested by some Democrats, or ending employer-based care as suggested by conservatives.
Obama says that for people who already have insurance, his plan will not “require you or your employer to change the coverage or the doctor you have.” This applies to Americans who have health insurance through their jobs, Medicare, Medicaid, or the United States Department of Veteran Affairs.
This plan will prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage due to preexisting health conditions or from dropping a person because of an illness. The plan disallows arbitrary caps on the amount of coverage a person can receive in a year or in a lifetime. It also limits consumers’ out-of-pocket bills.
The second aspect of the plan is an insurance exchange, a competitive marketplace that would offer affordable options to Americans currently without insurance. Obama said the plan would offer need-based tax credits for Americans and small Businesses that cannot pay even the reduced prices created by the open market.
The plan would take effect in four years; in the meantime, President Obama proposed low-cost coverage for people who have an illness and are not eligible for health insurance.
The third key aspect of the plan is that it requires everyone above a certain income to buy basic health insurance. He said “businesses will be required to either offer their workers health care, or chip in to help cover the cost of their workers.” However, for the majority of small businesses and Americans who cannot pay for insurance, there would be “a hardship waiver” to exempt them.
Obama said his plan will not take money from Medicare, it would not insure illegal immigrants, or fund any abortions.
Obama says the plan will not add to the deficit and will pay itself by cutting out the unnecessary expenditures and “reducing the waste and inefficiency in Medicare and Medicaid.” He said a government insurance company must be self-sufficient and pay itself through its own insurance premiums.