Obama Provides Health-Insurance Plan

Obama Provides Health-Insurance Plan

By: Ashley Freije

President Obama released his own health insurance reform proposal on February 22. Unlike previous attempts, his proposal is not an actual bill. Rather, it is a list of points divided into ten sections. The proposal preceded his meeting with republican and democratic lawmakers on February 24.

As with previous bills, people may keep their current insurance. “Nothing in the proposal forces anyone to change the insurance they have. Period,” reads the White House website. The proposal aims to create a “health insurance exchange” which will consist of private insurance companies that will compete for business and will have to “follow common-sense rules of the road that rein in the worst insurance industry abuses.“

In a new move, though, the proposal requires members of congress to purchase their health insurance from this same exchange.

The proposal will punish those who do not have health insurance, saying those who can afford insurance have “the responsibility to purchase it.” There are waivers: if premiums exceed 8 percent of one’s income, if one has a religious objection, makes less than the amount required to file taxes, or is a member of an Indian tribe, they are not required to purchase health insurance. If they are under the age of 30, however, they can purchase a “low-cost catastrophic plan” to cover serious injury or illness.

When it comes to funding, the proposal lacks details. It says the government will save money by increasing rebates on Medicare prescription drugs. All the website says is that “when enacted” health insurance reform will be completely paid for, and that it will reduce the deficit by more than $100-billion. It will enact excise taxes on insurance premiums costing $27,500 for families and $10,200 for singles in 2018.

The website devotes an entire section to republican ideas that the president incorporated into the bill as well, including expanding the dependency age to 26, and advancing medical liability reform.

The president also proposed “hundreds of billions of dollars” in tax credits to help middle-class families pay for insurance. The plan proposes tax credits for families making less than $250,000 There will also be financial assistance for low-income families. It also claims “tens of billions” of dollars in tax credits for small businesses to purchase insurance for their employees.

The proposal does, however, set many restrictions on insurance companies. New plans must offer preventative care, such as immunizations, for free. Current plans will be prevented from denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions, having different premiums based on gender or salary, and from dropping coverage when someone becomes sick. The act also limits the amount insurance companies can charge based on age.

The bill devotes an entire section to Medicare. The proposal will give incentives to doctors to improve care, and it will provide seniors with $250 to offset prescription costs when they reach the gap in Medicare coverage. The website says, “Medicare is a sacred trust with America’s seniors, and this Act preserves it.”

Like other proposed legislation, the president’s plan calls for an increased health care workforce, and provides ways to increase it, such as student loan repayment programs and greater scholarship programs.

The entire proposal can be read at whitehouse.gov