Obama Offers Universal Health Care Plan
by Pamela LeaveyBarack Obama has put his vision for Universal Health Care on the table with the claims that it would “provide every citizen a means for coverage and calls on government, businesses and consumers to share the costs of the program.” The plan “could save the average consumer $2,500 a year and bring health care to all, he says.
Obama campaign aides estimate “the cost of the program at $50 billion to $65 billion a year,” and like Kerry’s ‘04 plan, it would be “financed largely by eliminating tax cuts for the wealthy that are scheduled to expire.”
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.
Obama, like Kerry in ‘04, also called for an overhaul of the current health care system. An issue that is long overdue.
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.
AP’s Mike Glover reports that “Polls also have shown that voters rank health care as among their top concerns.” It’s definitely among my top concerns, as one of the millions in this country who is un-insured. We have to make health care more affordable. There are more people un-insured in America under the Bush administration, than ever. At first glance Obama’s plan looks good.
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Obama’s Health Care Plan: It’s a Miracle!
Barack Obama is about to accomplish the health care equivalent of parting the Red Sea. According to AP, his new health care plan is going to accomplish what most rational people had heretofore thought impossible: expanding coverage while simultaneously…
Pamela, I’d rather have the insurance that we get through my wife than nothing, but it ain’t anything to write home about. I think it’s normal for today. It’s excellent for the health providers because they’ll always get paid at least something, the insurance company makes a profit, and we would be in the same bankruptcy court that you would if we got anything much worse than a routine illness or accident. “Our share” always exists and we could last through about a couple of weeks in the hospital before it would be enough to swamp us. The one my parents had just paid for everything, and no one thought about it, but I’m not sure if that even exists any more.
Basing a system on insurance may be politically expedient, but it wouldn’t be if people knew more about “single payer”.
The best way to pay and get coverage for all is a Single Payer plan.
All insureance companies do is take money from the medical care system.
Michael Moore’s “Sicko” opened at Cannes Film Festival to mostly good reviews. TIME interviewed him on the issues and he brought up an important point about administrative costs. Insurance companies run about 20%. Medicare and Medicaid: 3%.
It’s also been pointed out that, taking out the inelegibility issues, the VA system has been providing very good care. That would be socialized medicine in America…(SHHH)
I’m not an advocate of socializing. I would like to cut out the Insurance companies – if we can do it without bloodshed. I also want to see health insurance cut completely off from employment. Employers might be required to pay something into the system based on the size of the company/# of employees. The individual’s insurance should be like Medicare or Social Security. Goes with you where ever you work and whether or not you work.
Yes, we can afford it. We might have to give up a few of our 725++ foreign millitary bases. The locals would be happy with that and I really can’t believe it would endanger our security here at home. Not as much as 47+ million uninsured does.
Darrell
As a self employed single mom, healthcare plans are way out of my budget and I know there’s a whole lot of folks out there like me. I don’t know what the answer is, but I do think insurance companies are racking everyone over the coals at this point.
Ginny, From what little I’ve seem I’m thinking that Hart agrees with you on the foreign military bases, and I’m hoping that’s true. On a planet this crowded, continuing to resort to force for everythign holds as mush potential to make things worse as it does to make them better.
Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts.