Refocus on Domestic Issues: Obama on First Year Benefits of Health Care Reform
EmailABC News' Sunlen Miller reports: In his weekly address President Obama refocuses on two domestic issues looming: health care and jobs. While admitting that “it’ll take a few years to fully implement” health care reforms in a “responsible way,” the president argues for the urgency of passing health care reform, and outlining what immediate improvement Americans will see – within the first year – of passing a health care bill. The President lists how he believes Americans will see change within the first year: “Uninsured Americans with a pre-existing illness or condition will finally be able to purchase coverage they can afford. Children with pre-existing conditions will no longer be refused coverage, and young adults will be able to stay on their parents’ policy until they’re 26 or 27 years old. Small business owners who can’t afford to cover their employees will be immediately offered tax credits to purchase coverage. Early retirees who receive coverage from their employers will see their coverage protected and their premiums go down. Seniors who fall into the coverage gap known as the donut hole will receive discounts of up to 50 percent on their prescriptions as we begin to close that gap altogether. And every patient’s choice of doctor will be protected, along with access to emergency care.” The President adds, “Here’s what else will happen within the first year. Insurance plans will be required to offer free preventive care to their customers – so that we can start catching preventable illnesses and diseases on the front end.” Referencing Friday’s jobs numbers, showing that 85,000 jobs were shed last month, the President said that the fact that the road to recovery would long and sometimes bumpy, “was brought home,” with the release of the disappointing report. He pledged that until there’s a good trend of sustainable job creation, the administration’s efforts would not stop. “We will be relentless in our efforts to put America back to work,” the President says ending on an optimistic note, “We enter a new decade, now, with new perils – but we’re going to meet them. It’s also a time of tremendous promise – and we’re going to seize it.” -Sunlen Miller
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Obama is a liar and cant be trusted. Where are the jobs he promised? He lied about health care reform saying he would not tax the working peoples insurance plans yet he now supports doing it which will cause Americans to loose their plans and have to gop on medicaid. This man is corrupt and we can no longer believe a word he says.
Posted by: Stanley | January 9, 2010, 7:22 am 7:22 am
And who’s paying for all this?
Posted by: bct | January 9, 2010, 7:52 am 7:52 am
Blah, blah, blah. Another speech.
I don’t care anymore what this con man fraud & liar says anymore, he’s not worth listening to, he’ll soon be the irrelevent lame duck President.
Posted by: Terry | January 9, 2010, 9:03 am 9:03 am
“Uninsured Americans with a pre-existing illness or condition will finally be able to purchase coverage they can afford.”
Hmmm… they can purchase coverage, but what quality of healthcare will this “coverage” provide?
And these pre-existing illnesses or conditions that will not be a barrier to getting “coverage”- how again do they help “bend the cost curve down”?
And how will these people suddenly be able to afford this “coverage”? Smells like wealth re-distribution to me, comrades.
Finally- no one pro “health care reform” (hah, good one) has been able to explain how introducing thirty million new patients into the existing US health care universe without increasing facilities or medical workers will result in a DECREASE of costs.
This is basic economics- more demand, constant supply, rising prices. Whatever “cost curves: there are will rise.
Irrefutable, even if you try to use the special “Unicorn Economics” currently in vogue over in Stupidton, DC.
Yet again President Jugears flaps his arugula lovin’ piehole, and another avalanche of nonsense tumbles out.
Say, maybe he can hand out medicinal Skittles at his next press conference.
Posted by: 2Brixshy | January 9, 2010, 9:14 am 9:14 am
He has lied more than he has told the
truth, so why believe any of this
pap ?
Posted by: wis134 | January 9, 2010, 9:24 am 9:24 am
Many of Obama’s supporters are excited at the thought of the U.S. becoming just another European-style social democracy and shedding the last vestiges of its exceptionalism. Once that happens, there’s probably no going back, and the only “exceptional” major power in the world will be China.
Yes, this century will belong to the Chinese, unless they make the same mistake of adopting a European-style welfare system as well. Thank you Mr. President.
Posted by: Bob | January 9, 2010, 9:30 am 9:30 am
Free preventative care? Does this man really think anything is free and for the 10 or 12 % of Americans who don’t have insurance he is willing to wreck 1/6 th of the economy and raise the cost to everyone who now pays?
Our Vice Presidents mom who passed at 92, whom it was reported to be a hard working person and lived during some of the most difficult times this country has ever seen, was part of a generation, like my Grandmother the same age, that often gave birth at home, farmed, didn’t run to the doctor everytime a sniffle came upon them and often just didn’t have much at all except the love of their famlies.
Couple these people with todays society of we gotta have it, we gotta have it now and if I don’t have the money for it then someone else must pay for it…because I am entitled to it.
God help us as we are led by a man who is more fitted to driving a machine with a big wrecking ball on it.
Posted by: david | January 9, 2010, 9:41 am 9:41 am
No one believes Obama anymore. He lies too much.
And we don’t want Obamacare, period.
Posted by: Michelle | January 9, 2010, 9:51 am 9:51 am
OBAMA: “Uninsured Americans with a pre-existing illness or condition will finally be able to purchase coverage they can afford.”
As soon as private healthcare insurance companies are forced to insure patients with pre-exisiting illnesses or conditions, premiums will skyrocket for EVERYONE. Do you honestly believe that the private sector will just absorb the costs of taking patients who already have annual medical bills of $50,000 or $100,000 or $250,000? Of course not! The private sector is in business to make money! And that won’t stop just because they are no longer allowed to deny individuals with pre-exixting illnessess or conditions.
Posted by: James Danley | January 9, 2010, 10:10 am 10:10 am
Pre-existing…
Posted by: James Danley | January 9, 2010, 10:12 am 10:12 am
As soon as private healthcare insurance companies are forced to insure patients with pre-exisiting illnesses or conditions, premiums will skyrocket for EVERYONE.
=============
Yeah, this speech was all about what people are going to “get” from this.
The other side is not so pleasant.
Posted by: MayBee | January 9, 2010, 10:19 am 10:19 am
The President adds, “Here’s what else will happen within the first year. Insurance plans will be required to offer free preventive care to their customers – so that we can start catching preventable illnesses and diseases on the front end.”
*************
Would someone please tell the President nothing is free.
Posted by: wheresmymoney | January 9, 2010, 10:29 am 10:29 am
Does anyone really believe this will stop at European styled healthcare? Remember, Cap & Tax is still on the burner. Manufacturing and finance is taken over. Not much left to even be called Socialism.
Posted by: Jerry | January 9, 2010, 10:35 am 10:35 am
Massachussetts state Democrats say they will delay the swearing in of Republican Scott Brown if he wins Ted’s Senate seat–in order to save ObamaCare.
“This is a stunning admission by Paul Kirk and the Beacon Hill political machine,” said Brown in a statement. “Paul Kirk appears to be suggesting that he, Deval Patrick, and Harry Reid intend to stall the election certification until the health care bill is rammed through Congress, even if that means defying the will of the people of Massachusetts. As we’ve already seen from the backroom deals and kickbacks cut by the Democrats in Washington, they intend to do anything and everything to pass their controversial health care plan. But threatening to ignore the results of a free election and steal this Senate vote from the people of Massachusetts takes their schemes to a whole new level. Martha Coakley should immediately disavow this threat from one of her campaign’s leading supporters.”
Posted by: Culture of Corruption | January 9, 2010, 10:54 am 10:54 am
That “required to offer free preventive care to their customers” is a loaded statement. I presume that means if you normally pay a co-payment, THAT will be waved for an annual physical exam. Does that mean no co-payments for blood tests associated with an annual physical exam? BUT IF you don’t currently have co-payments, then once you’ve paid your premiums aren’t the physical exams and blood tests already covered with no additional costs to you? OR is President Obama saying that if you don’t have co-payments that your insurance company will deduct the amount of your annual physical exam from your next premium (yeah right!).
Posted by: James Danley | January 9, 2010, 10:57 am 10:57 am
The “responsible way” to institute health care reforms would have been/would be to have a fully transparent public deliberation, the ideal of our American tradition.
President Obama knows this, because he promised it to us to get our trust and vote.
It is another example of this administration’s Bait-and-Switch dishonesty.
This hideously-created, enslaving bill is a perfect example of how tyranny fails a people, and how the cumbersome process of representative governance fosters the best alternative.
Down with the tyrants! National Recall, Nov. 2010.
Posted by: Carol | January 9, 2010, 11:23 am 11:23 am
That long paragraph is ate up with inaccuracies. At least the lies are transparent.
Posted by: Foghorn Leghorn | January 9, 2010, 11:44 am 11:44 am
LIES, LIES, AND MORE LIES. I MAY NEVER VOTE FOR ANOTHER DEMOCRAT.
Posted by: carolinaunc | January 9, 2010, 11:55 am 11:55 am
I never voted for anyone and made a RIGHT CHOICE. Will i ever get health insurance in this country I DONT THINK SO>Its sad that this country gives 100000 of dollars on AID for other countries and spends money on WARS>but american citizens cant even get HEALTH INSURANCE and a job that pays more than 10 bucks an hour.
Posted by: deena | January 9, 2010, 12:49 pm 12:49 pm
Obama lies about everything. He cannot be trusted on any matter at all.
Posted by: tanarg | January 9, 2010, 7:10 pm 7:10 pm
How is taxing the middle class on their health care plans responsible. My union has worked for years for our benefits, and they have been getting worse with every contract, and I work for a company who made 12.9 billion profit My eyecare is just a pay ahead program, my dental is not much more than a discount program when you get past cleaning. and now we have deductibles, and copays, that can break us, if we get anything more than a cold in a year. Now the answer is taxing our insurance? We’ll either owe the IRS, or go for a worse plan so that we can owe the doctors.
Posted by: Gary | January 10, 2010, 5:29 pm 5:29 pm