Friday, September 11, 2009

Health Care Reform

The President's Plan for Health Reform

“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 lower the cost of health care
for our families, our businesses, and our government."
– PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA


If You Have Health Insurance,
the President's Plan:
Ends discrimination against people with pre-existing conditions.
Limits premium discrimination based on gender and age.
Prevents insurance companies from dropping coverage when people are sick and need it most.
Caps out-of-pocket expenses so people don’t go broke when they get sick.
Eliminates extra charges for preventive care like mammograms, flu shots and diabetes tests to improve health and save money.
Protects Medicare for seniors.
Eliminates the “donut-hole” gap in coverage for prescription drugs.
If You Don’t Have Insurance,
the President's Plan:
Creates a new insurance marketplace — the Exchange — that allows people without insurance and small businesses to compare plans and buy insurance at competitive prices.
Provides new tax credits to help people buy insurance.
Provides small businesses tax credits and affordable options for covering employees.
Offers a public health insurance option to provide the uninsured and those who can’t find affordable coverage with a real choice.
Immediately offers new, low-cost coverage through a national “high risk” pool to protect people with preexisting conditions from financial ruin until the new Exchange is created.
For All Americans,
the President's Plan:
Won’t add a dime to the deficit and is paid for upfront.
Requires additional cuts if savings are not realized.
Implements a number of delivery system reforms that begin to rein in health care costs and align incentives for hospitals, physicians, and others to improve quality.
Creates an independent commission of doctors and medical experts to identify waste, fraud and abuse in the health care system.
Orders immediate medical malpractice reform projects that could help doctors focus on putting their patients first, not on practicing defensive medicine.
Requires large employers to cover their employees and individuals who can afford it to buy insurance so everyone shares in the responsibility of reform.

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3 comments:

Cher Duncombe said...

This is the first time I have seen HCR put so succinctly. This was well-done and most informative.

Dr. James said...

Thank you so much for your comment. You do such a fine job.

Elizabeth said...

What he says sounds really great but he seems to be lacking a clear plan.

One thing that I would love to hear more information on is how he plans to end discrimination against people with pre-existing conditions. It won't help if it costs $40,000 a year because you had cancer 15 years ago or $20,000 a year if you have a chronic illness. It would still be too expensive for most to be able to afford it and they would still be in the same boat of the uninsured. Great post.