Lower premiums are key to Obama health plan

[Colobo]

http://www.qctimes.com/articles/2007/05/29//news/local/doc465bb60b3eece348078248.txt

Obama already has said that his goal is to achieve universal coverage by 2012. But, in the interview, he placed a great emphasis on lowering costs, an issue with many middle class voters.

“Obviously, families who have no health insurance will see the benefits of having health insurance and not having to worry about being bankrupt if they get sick,” he said. “But just as much focus will be placed on lowering premiums, and that’s something that I heard repeatedly as I traveled around the country. So, we’ll have a component that directly addresses that issue.“

Health care premiums went up a cumulative 87 percent between 2000 and 2006, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Achieving universal coverage is a perennial goal of Democratic presidential candidates. About 45 million Americans, including 240,000 Iowans, did not have health insurance in 2005, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. But the cost of care is getting more attention in this campaign.

Last week, presidential hopeful U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., laid out her plan to cut health care costs. She said it would save $120 billion per year, or $2,200 for the average American family. Clinton is rolling out her health care ideas in phases.

[nosmokes]

1. color me naive but i don't see any plan that includes insurance companies

as ever working out to be sustainable or affordable.

[AnOhioan]

3. Agree wholeheartedly

To those who say single payer is a pipedream...maybe but we will never know unless we demand it and back a candidate who demands it.

[avrdream]

2. I want DETAILS!

I know, he will probably give me some details.....but, this is a HUGE issue IMHO and a great candidate will spell out the specifics, not just on the benefits, but also on how these benefits are funded. I don't mind if they are honest and say that taxes will go up to fund it but HAVE A PLAN for funding or go back and be senator, governor, ex-senator, congressman, or whatever. Don't run if you haven't got a good plan for improving health care. It is too damn important for America.

Okay, I'm jumping off my soapbox.

[dflprincess]

11. I just found this in my email

Sorry, there was no direct link to the AP story with it I imagine it can be found on AP's website. It appears to be a health insurance plan, not a health care plan. I am not impressed.

Obama Offers Universal Health Care Plan
05/29/2007
Associated Press (AP) - Des Moines Bureau
Glover, Mike
Return to Top

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) - Democrat Barack Obama is offering a sweeping plan that would provide every citizen a means to have health coverage and calls on government, businesses and consumers to share the costs of the program. Obama said his plan could save the average consumer $2,500 a year and bring health care to all.

Obama's plan retains the private insurance system but injects additional money into the system 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 that would be offered would be similar to the one covering members of Congress.

His package would prohibit insurance companies from refusing coverage because of pre-existing conditions.

"My plan begins by covering every American. If you already have health insurance, the only thing that will change for you under this plan is that the amount of money you will spend on premiums will be less," Obama said. "If you are one of 45 million Americans who don't have health insurance, you will after this plan becomes law."

Obama also called for a series of steps to overhaul the current health care system. 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.

[Telly Savalas]

13. The funding comes from repealing Bush's tax cuts on the wealthy.

Why didn't anyone ask where the funding will come from for that bullshit $100 billion war bill? That's $100 billion for 4 months of killing people versus $50 billion a year to help save people.

By the way, more details may be found here:

http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/HealthPlanFull.pdf

Not incredibly ambitious, but about on par with Edwards' plan and the one Clinton has been hinting at.

[JTFrog]

4. Maybe they all need to wait for Sicko

to come out. I just don't see many candidates getting it. We don't need health INSURANCE... we need health CARE!

[RC]

5. Now there are at least two of us that see the problem.

With 60% of health insurance premiums going to administrative overhead and only 3-4% or so with Medicaid/Medicare, insurance is obviously not the way to go.
Another issue that has to be addressed are the obscene profits the pharmaceuticals are making.

[a kennedy]

6. Yup, we gotta turn this into the focus......

We don't need health INSURANCE... we need health CARE! :patriot:

[Nedsdag]

7. He can't win.

First people are screaming for a health plan. Then he finally releases one and everyone in here screams "Where's single payer?"

Even I give up.

[doggyboy]

8. None of the top candidates are offering Single Payer

Not Hillary, not Edwards, and not Obama. And IMO, there's a good reason for that. It's not politically feasible at this time, IMO.

So it's kind of silly to criticize one candidate for not offering SP.

[w4rma]

9. In fact all the top candidates are offering plans that are the Edwards plan with minor changes.

Which is fine with me. This means that this plan is *extremely* likely to pass Congress and be signed by any Democratic President very early on in their first term (although Hillary has said that she'll wait until her second term).

[doggyboy]

10. Those plans are not "Edwards' Plan"

Like all the other candidates, Edwards did not come up with these ideas himself. He merely borrowed them from a bunch of policy wonks. Just as there is nothing "new" in Obama's plan, there's nothing new in Edwards plan either

And not only is there nothing wrong with that, it's exactly what the candidates SHOULD do - take the best advice from the experts.

[AngryAmish]

12. How do the premiums go down?

Do we lower the wages of those in the health care facilities?

Do we restrict the treatment and tests allowed?

Do we make young people join insurance groups so older people can have their care subsidized?