"I...believe that every American has the right to affordable health care. I believe that the millions of Americans who can't take their children to a doctor when they get sick have that right...We now face an opportunity - and an obligation - to turn the page on the failed politics of yesterday's health care debates. It's time to bring together businesses, the medical community, and members of both parties around a comprehensive solution to this crisis, and it's time to let the drug and insurance industries know that while they'll get a seat at the table, they don't get to buy every chair."
-Barack Obama, Speech in Iowa City, IA, 5/27/07
The U.S. spends $2 trillion on health care every year, and offers the best medical technology and scientific research in the world. Yet, the benefits of the American health care system come at a price that an increasing number of individuals and families, employers and employees, and public and private providers cannot afford.
47 million Americans - including nearly 9 million children - lack health insurance.
Health care costs are skyrocketing. Health insurance premiums have risen four times faster than wages over the past six years. Lack of affordable health care is compounded by serious flaws in our health care delivery system. About 100,000 Americans die from medical errors in hospitals every year.
Too little is spent on prevention and public health. The nation faces epidemics of obesity and chronic diseases as well as new threats of pandemic flu and bioterrorism. Yet, despite all of this, less than four cents of every health care dollar is spent on prevention and public health.
Pauline Taylor, 55, a nurse who lives in Iowa City and is a member of SEIU Local 199, a health care workers' union, [said], "He touched on all the highlight"s...(Obama's plan) is wonderful." Taylor said she liked the emphasis on preventative care and getting more generic medications on the market. A nurse for 33 years, Taylor said she has seen what happens when medical conditions go unchecked for years. "People will not put off going to the doctor for so long," she said.
-Iowa City Press Citizen 5/30/07
Barack Obama believes we live in the greatest country in the world and that when it comes to health care, America can and must do better. The Obama plan will save a typical American family up to $2,500 every year on premiums by:
Douglas Davis, an emergency room technician for the University of Iowa hospitals, said he believes Obama's plan gives hope to families. "I believe it's achievable but the most important thing I'm taking from the plan is the security for families," Davis said. "We can't idly sit by and let families take the burden when you have corporations making" billions of dollars.
-Des Moines Register (as reprinted on USAToday.com), 5/29/07
The Obama plan both builds upon and improves our current insurance system, upon which most Americans continue to rely, and leaves Medicare intact for older and disabled Americans.
1. Obama's Plan to Cover the Uninsured. Obama will create a new national health plan to allow individuals without access to affordable insurance coverage to buy coverage similar to that available to members of Congress. The Obama plan will have:
2. National Health Insurance Exchange. Obama will create a National Health Insurance Exchange to help individuals who wish to purchase private insurance. The Exchange will act as a watchdog group and help reform the private insurance market by creating rules and standards for participating insurance plans to ensure fairness and to make individual coverage more affordable and accessible. Insurers would have to issue every applicant a policy, and charge fair and stable premiums. The Exchange will require benefits comparable to those offered in the new public plan. Insurers would be required to justify an above-average premium increase. The Exchange would evaluate plans and provide information about differences between them.
3. Employer Contribution. Employers that do not offer or make a meaningful contribution to the cost of quality health coverage for their employees will be required to contribute a percentage of payroll toward the costs of the national plan. Small employers that meet certain revenue thresholds will be exempt.
4. Mandatory Coverage of Children. Obama will require that all children have health care coverage.
5. Expansion of Medicaid and SCHIP. Obama will expand eligibility for Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program.
6. Flexibility for State Plans. Obama's plan allows states to continue innovating on health care reform.
Achieving universal coverage has long been a goal of Democratic presidential hopefuls. But Obama's emphasis on cost savings is bound to appeal to people who have insurance but still have seen their costs skyrocket... If Obama's plan helped a little it would mean a lot to her family and many others, Amy . . . said. "There are lots of factors that play into our success or failure, but in our case, the high cost of health insurance premiums is really dragging our family down," said [Amy]... "The month-to-month cost of the premiums is out of balance with the reality of our income. If we could have just a little help, if it could be reduced just a little, it would really help."
-Quad City Times, 5/29/07
1. Reducing Costs of Catastrophic Illnesses for Employers and their Employees. Catastrophic health expenditures account for a high percentage of medical expenses for private insurers. The Obama plan would reimburse employer health plans for a portion of the catastrophic costs they incur above a threshold if they guarantee such savings are used to reduce the cost of workers' premiums.
2. Lowering Costs by Ensuring Patients Receive and Providers Deliver Quality Care.
Helping Patients
Ensuring Providers Deliver Quality Care
3. Lowering Costs through Investment in Electronic Health Information Technology Systems. Obama will invest $10 billion over five years to move the U.S. health care system to broad adoption of standards-based electronic health information systems. Obama will ensure that patients' privacy is protected.
4. Lowering Costs by Increasing Competition in the Insurance and Drug Markets.
On Tuesday in Iowa City, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, a Democrat, announced his [health care plan]... one aspect is particularly noteworthy: It includes limits on the profits of private-sector health-care businesses. He believes that's the right move for consumers, but it risks offending some powerful interests. He did it anyway. That tells voters something important about him.
-Editorial, Des Moines Register, 6/1/07
Obama's emphasis on reducing waste and inefficiencies and increasing spending on prevention appealed to Dr. George Weiner, director of the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center at UI. The cost of providing health care to those without insurance often is more expensive than prevention would have been, he said. "I'm excited about his plan and others," Weiner said. "The time is right for universal health care."
-Cedar Rapids Gazette, 5/29/07
Barack Obama believes that protecting and promoting health and wellness in this nation is a shared responsibility among individuals and families, school systems, employers, the medical and public health workforce, and federal, state, and local governments.
1. Employers. An increasing number of employers are offering worksite health promotion programs and insurance plans that cover preventive services. Obama will support and expand these important efforts.
2. School Systems. Obama will work with schools to create more healthful environments for children. He will work to get junk food out of vending machines in schools and improve nutritional content of lunches through financial incentives, increase grant support for physical education, expand federal reimbursement for school-based health services, and provide grants for health educational programs for students.
3. Workforce. Obama will expand funding - including loan repayment, adequate reimbursement, grants for training curricula, and infrastructure support to improve working conditions - to ensure a strong workforce that will champion prevention and public health activities.
4. Individuals and Families. The way Americans live, eat, work, and play have real implications for their health and wellness. The Obama health plan will require coverage of essential clinical preventive services such as cancer screenings and smoking cessation programs in all federally supported health plans. Obama will also increase funding to expand proven community-based preventive interventions.
5. Federal, State and Local Governments. Governments at all levels should develop a national and regional strategy for public health that includes funding mechanisms for implementation. Senator Obama also supports greater organization of the 3,000 health departments in this nation and supports collaborative arrangements between government and the private sector. The Obama plan will also force government to examine its own policies, including agricultural, educational, and environmental policies, to assess and improve their effect on public health in this nation. As president, Barack Obama will prioritize these activities to strengthen prevention and public health, as well as fight for the following initiatives:
Share your voice on these issues by using our MyPolicy tools. With the help of your insight, Barack will further develop his health care plan to take into account our common experiences and build the political momentum to enact real reform.
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