Needlenose

Highlights from the partial text released by the White House:

I am not the first President to take up this cause, but I am determined to be the last. . . .

Our collective failure to meet this challenge – year after year, decade after decade – has led us to a breaking point. . . . During that time, we have seen Washington at its best and its worst. . . .

Of the five committees asked to develop bills, four have completed their work, and the Senate Finance Committee announced today that it will move forward next week.  That has never happened before. . . . And there is agreement in this chamber on about eighty percent of what needs to be done, putting us closer to the goal of reform than we have ever been.

But what we have also seen in these last months is the same partisan spectacle that only hardens the disdain many Americans have toward their own government.  Instead of honest debate, we have seen scare tactics. Some have dug into unyielding ideological camps that offer no hope of compromise.  Too many have used this as an opportunity to score short-term political points, even if it robs the country of our opportunity to solve a long-term challenge.  And out of this blizzard of charges and counter-charges, confusion has reigned.

Well, the time for bickering is over.  The time for games has passed. Now is the season for action. . . .  Now is the time to deliver on health care.

The plan I’m announcing tonight would meet three basic goals: It 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. . . .

Here are the details that every American needs to know about this plan: First, if you are among the hundreds of millions of Americans who already have health insurance through your job, Medicare, Medicaid, or the VA, nothing in this plan will require you or your employer to change the coverage or the doctor you have.  Let me repeat this: nothing in our plan requires you to change what you have.

What this plan will do is to make the insurance you have work better for you.  Under this plan, it will be against the law for insurance companies to deny you coverage because of a pre-existing condition. As soon as I sign this bill, it will be against the law for insurance companies to drop your coverage when you get sick or water it down when you need it most.  They will no longer be able to place some arbitrary cap on the amount of coverage you can receive in a given year or a lifetime.  We will place a limit on how much you can be charged for out-of-pocket expenses, because in the United States of America, no one should go broke because they get sick.  And insurance companies will be required to cover, with no extra charge, routine checkups and preventive care. . . .

Now, if you’re one of the tens of millions of Americans who don’t currently have health insurance, the second part of this plan will finally offer you quality, affordable choices.  If you lose your job or change your job, you will be able to get coverage.  If you strike out on your own and start a small business, you will be able to get coverage.  We will do this by creating a new insurance exchange – a marketplace where individuals and small businesses will be able to shop for health insurance at competitive prices.  Insurance companies will have an incentive to participate in this exchange because it lets them compete for millions of new customers. As one big group, these customers will have greater leverage to bargain with the insurance companies for better prices and quality coverage.  This is how large companies and government employees get affordable insurance.  It’s how everyone in this Congress gets affordable insurance. . . .

This is the plan I’m proposing.  It’s a plan that incorporates ideas from many of the people in this room tonight – Democrats and Republicans.  And I will continue to seek common ground in the weeks ahead.  If you come to me with a serious set of proposals, I will be there to listen.  My door is always open.

But know this:  I will not waste time with those who have made the calculation that it’s better politics to kill this plan than improve it. I will not stand by while the special interests use the same old tactics to keep things exactly the way they are.  If you misrepresent what’s in the plan, we will call you out.  And I will not accept the status quo as a solution.  Not this time.  Not now.

Obvious comment:  Who is this assertive, confident guy, and where has he been hiding the past several months?

Maybe it’s just, as someone once said, that you don’t roll out a new product before Labor Day….

Update: On the public option…

Now, I have no interest in putting insurance companies out of business.
They provide a legitimate service, and employ a lot of our friends and
neighbors. I just want to hold them accountable. The insurance reforms
that I’ve already mentioned would do just that. But an additional step we
can take to keep insurance companies honest is by making a not-for-profit public option available in the insurance exchange. Let me be clear – it would only be an option for those who don’t have insurance. No one would be forced to choose it, and it would not impact those of you who already have insurance. In fact, based on Congressional Budget Office estimates, we believe that less than 5% of Americans would sign up.

Despite all this, the insurance companies and their allies don’t like this
idea. They argue that these private companies can’t fairly compete with the
government. And they’d be right if taxpayers were subsidizing this public
insurance option. But they won’t be. I have insisted that like any private
insurance company, the public insurance option would have to be
self-sufficient and rely on the premiums it collects. But by avoiding some of the overhead that gets eaten up at private companies by profits, excessive administrative costs and executive salaries, it could provide a good deal for consumers. It would also keep pressure on private insurers to keep their policies affordable and treat their customers better, the same way public colleges and universities provide additional choice and competition to students without in any way inhibiting a vibrant system of private colleges and universities.

It’s worth noting that a strong majority of Americans still favor a public insurance option of the sort I’ve proposed tonight. But its impact shouldn’t be exaggerated – by the left, the right, or the media. It is only *one* part of my plan, and should not be used as a handy excuse for the usual Washington ideological battles. To my progressive friends, I would remind you that for decades, the driving idea behind reform has been to end insurance company abuses and make coverage affordable for those without it. The public option is only a means to that end – and we should remain open to other ideas that accomplish our ultimate goal. And to my Republican friends, I say that rather than making wild claims about a government takeover of health care, we should work together to address any legitimate concerns you may have.

For example, some have suggested that that the public option go into effect
only in those markets where insurance companies are not providing affordable
policies. Others propose a co-op or another non-profit entity to administer the plan. These are all constructive ideas worth exploring. But I will not back down on the basic principle that if Americans can’t find affordable coverage, we will provide you with a choice. And I will make sure that no government bureaucrat or insurance company bureaucrat gets between you and the care that you need.

Stumble it!

Tags: Healthcare reform, President Obama

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 9th, 2009 at 2:21 pm by Swopa and is filed under Healthcare reform. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.