Karen Richardson is Barack Obama's Iowa Policy Director.
For months, I've been traveling around the state to hear Iowans talk about the issues that matter to them and help make sure that Senator Obama takes those ideas and concerns into consideration in all of Barack's policy proposals. Often, I also answer questions about Senator Obama's positions. This past weekend, I traveled to Cedar Rapids to speak to a group of undecided voters, and was asked to address Barack's health care plan and explain how it will cover all Americans without a specific mandate (or requirement) that everyone have health insurance coverage. I thought my answer to them might be helpful to some of you who are interested in the health care issue.Senator Obama's health care plan is premised on the idea that one of the main reasons that we have 47 million uninsured Americans is not because those 47 million people do not want health insurance, but because they simply cannot afford it. Experts agree that mandating or forcing Americans to buy health care insurance, without taking significant steps to make it more affordable, means that many Americans will continue to not have health insurance. That's why insisting that we rely solely on a mandate just will not work.We have seen this situation play out with car insurance. Most states require you to have insurance on your car in case you get in an accident. But some do not. Some of the states that do not require insurance, but instead focus on decreasing the cost of insurance, experience higher rates of people with insurance.So, because affordability is the main impediment to people getting health care, Senator Obama introduced a plan focused on cutting the cost of health care-and the plan cuts costs more than any other candidates' proposal in this race. It will reduce a typical family's premiums by as much as $2500 per year by making the system more efficient, picking up the cost of some of the high-costs cases, and actually make it possible for every single American to be covered.Of course, no policy proposal from any candidate really matters unless we have the leadership that can bring Democrats and Republicans together to pass a universal health care plan. Senator Obama has demonstrated this leadership to pass bipartisan legislation in the Illinois State Senate, when he expanded health care access to thousands of Illinois children and families. It is that experience the American people need to move past the partisan politics that has blocked good ideas from moving forward, and is what makes Senator Obama the one candidate who will be able to achieve universal coverage as president of the United States.
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