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The
Policies of Senator Barack Obama
Barack Obama’s Plan for a Healthy America
“We now face an opportunity – and an
obligation – to turn the page on the failed
politics of yesterday’s health care debates.... 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 the amount of money you will spend on premiums. That will be
less.
If you are one of the 45 million Americans who don’t have health
insurance,
you will have it after this plan becomes law.
No one will be turned away because of a preexisting condition or illness.”
Barack Obama, Speech in Iowa
City, IA, May 29, 2007
At a Glance
Universal Coverage
Obama will sign a
universal health care plan into law by the end of his first term in
office. His plan will provide affordable, quality health care coverage for
every American.
Reduce Health Care Costs
Obama’s plan will bring
down the cost of health care and reduce a typical family’s premiums by as
much as $2,500 per 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 4 cents
of every health care dollar is spent on prevention and public health.
THE PROBLEM
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Millions Of Americans are Uninsured or
Underinsured because of Rising Medical Costs
47 million Americans –
including nearly 9 million children – lack health insurance with no signs
of this trend slowing down.
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Health Care Costs are Skyrocketing
Health insurance premiums
have risen four times faster than wages over the past six years.
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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 4 cents
of every health care dollar is spent on prevention and public health.
Barack Obama’s Plan
Quality, Affordable and Portable
Coverage for All
(1)
Obama’s Plan to Cover Uninsured
Obama will make available
a new national health plan so all Americans, including the self-employed
and small businesses, can buy affordable health coverage that is similar
to the plan available to members of Congress.
The Obama Plan will have the
Following Features:
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Guaranteed Eligibility:
No American will be
turned away FROM ANY INSURANCE PLAN because of illness or pre-existing
conditions.
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Comprehensive Benefits:
The benefit package will
be similar to that offered through Federal Employees Health Benefits
Program (FEHBP), the plan members of Congress have. The plan will cover
all essential medical services, including preventive, maternity and mental
health care.
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Affordable Premiums, Co-Pays and
Deductibles.
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Subsidies:
Individuals and families
who do not qualify for Medicaid or SCHIP but still need financial
assistance will receive an income-related federal subsidy to buy into the
new public plan or purchase a private health care plan.
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Simplified Paperwork and Reined in
Health Costs.
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Easy Enrollment:
The new public plan will
be simple to enroll in and provide ready access to coverage.
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Portability and Choice:
Participants in the new
public plan and the National Health Insurance Exchange (see below) will be
able to move from job to job without changing or jeopardizing their health
care coverage.
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Quality and Efficiency:
Participating insurance
companies in the new public program will be required to report data to
ensure that standards for quality, health information technology and
administration are being met.
(2)
National Health Insurance Exchange
The Obama plan will
create a National Health Insurance Exchange to help individuals who wish
to purchase a private insurance plan. 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 that
will not depend on how healthy you are. The Exchange will require that all
the plans offered are at least as generous as the new public plan and have
the same standards for quality and efficiency. The Exchange would evaluate
plans and make the differences among the plans, including cost of
services, public.
(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. Obama will expand the number of
options for young adults to get coverage, including allowing young people
up to age 25 to continue coverage through their parents’ plans.
(5)
Expansion Of Medicaid and SCHIP:
Obama will expand
eligibility for the Medicaid and SCHIP programs and ensure that these
programs continue to serve as a critical safety net.
(6) Flexibility for State Plans:
Due to federal inaction,
some states have taken the lead in health care reform. The Obama plan
builds on these efforts and does not replace what states are doing. States
can continue to experiment, provided they meet the minimum standards of
the national plan.
Lower Costs by Modernizing the
U.S. Health Care System
(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.
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Support Disease Management Programs:
Seventy five percent of
total health care dollars are spent on patients with one or more chronic
conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure. Obama
will require that providers that participate in the new public plan,
Medicare or the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) utilize
proven disease management programs. This will improve quality of care,
give doctors better information and lower costs. Coordinate and Integrate
Care: Over 133 million Americans have at least one chronic disease and
these chronic conditions cost a staggering $1.7 trillion yearly. Obama
will improve coordination and integration of care of those with chronic
conditions by making sure programs are fully implemented and encouraging
team care.
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Require Full Transparency about Quality
and Costs:
Obama will require
hospitals and providers to collect and publicly report measures of health
care costs and quality, including data on preventable medical errors,
nurse staffing ratios, hospital-acquired infections, and disparities in
care. Health plans
will also be required to disclose the percentage of premiums that go to
patient care as opposed to administrative costs.
Ensuring Providers Deliver
Quality Care
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Promote Patient Safety:
Obama will require
providers to report preventable medical errors and support hospital and
physician practice improvement to prevent future occurrences.
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Align Incentives for Excellence:
Both public and private
insurers tend to pay providers based on the volume of services provided,
rather than the quality or effectiveness of care. Providers who see
patients enrolled in the new public plan, the National Health Insurance
Exchange, Medicare and FEHBP will be rewarded based on how effectively
they treat patients.
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Comparative Effectiveness Research:
Obama will establish an
independent institute to guide reviews and research on comparative
effectiveness, so that Americans and their doctors will have the accurate
and objective information they need to make the best decisions for their
health and well-being.
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Tackle Disparities in Health Care:
Obama will tackle the
root causes of health disparities by addressing differences in access to
health coverage and promoting prevention and public health, both of which
play a major role in addressing disparities. He will also challenge the
medical system to eliminate inequities in health care through quality
measurement and reporting, implementation of effective interventions such
as patient navigation programs, and making the health workforce more
diverse.
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Reform Medical Malpractice:
Obama will strengthen
antitrust laws to prevent insurers from overcharging physicians for their
malpractice insurance and will promote new models for addressing errors
that improve patient safety, strengthen the doctor-patient relationship
and reduce the need for malpractice suits.
(3)
Lowering Costs Through Investment in
Electronic Health Information Technology Systems:
Most medical records are
still stored on paper, which makes it hard to coordinate care, measure
quality or reduce medical errors and which costs twice as much as
electronic claims. Obama will invest $10 billion a year over the next five
years to move the U.S. health care system to broad adoption of
standards-based electronic health information systems, including
electronic health records, and will phase in requirements for full
implementation of health IT. Obama will ensure that patients’ privacy is
protected.
(4)
Lowering Costs by Increasing Competition in
the Insurance and Drug Markets:
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Increase Competition:
The insurance business
today is dominated by a small group of large companies that has been
gobbling up their rivals. There have been over 400 health care mergers in
the last 10 years, and just two companies dominate a full third of the
national market. These changes were supposed to make the industry more
efficient, but instead premiums have skyrocketed by over 87 percent.
Barack Obama will prevent
companies from abusing their monopoly power through unjustified price
increases. His plan will force insurers to pay out a reasonable share of
their premiums for patient care instead of keeping exorbitant amounts for
profits and administration. His new National Health Exchange will help
increase competition by insurers.
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Lower Prescription Drug Costs:
The second-fastest
growing type of health expenses is prescription drugs. Pharmaceutical
companies are selling the exact same drugs in Europe and Canada but
charging Americans more than double the price. Obama will allow Americans
to buy their medicines from other developed countries if the drugs are
safe and prices are lower outside the U.S. Obama will also repeal the ban
that prevents the government from negotiating with drug companies, which
could result in savings as high as $30 billion. Finally, Obama will work
to increase the use of generic drugs in Medicare, Medicaid, and FEHBP and
prohibit big name drug companies from keeping generics out of markets.
Obama’s Record
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Health Insurance:
In 2003, Barack Obama
sponsored and passed legislation that expanded health care coverage to
70,000 kids and 84,000 adults. In the U.S. Senate, Obama cosponsored the
Healthy Kids Act of 2007 and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program
(SCHIP) Reauthorization Act of 2007 to ensure that more American children
have affordable health care coverage.
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Women’s Health:
Obama worked to pass a
number of laws in Illinois and Washington to improve the
health of women. His accomplishments include creating a task force on
cervical cancer, providing greater access to breast and cervical cancer
screenings, and helping improve prenatal and premature birth services.
For More Information
Read the Speech
Read the Plan:
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