Obama Health Plan

Barack Obama's health care plan proposed to provide health insurance to 95% of all United States citizens. The plan included expanding Medicaid eligibility, making health care for children mandatory, offering a tax credit to small businesses to encourage them to provide affordable health care to employees, taxing medium and large companies that don't offer a health care plan, and providing the opportunity to select a private or public policy.

The president gave a speech detailing his health care goals to the joint sessions of Congress on Wednesday, September 9, 2009. Rep. Charles Boustany was chosen to provide a response to Obama's speech, and presented the Republican point of view.

At one point during Obama's address, Representative Joe Wilson (Republican-South Carolina) interrupted the president's speech by yelling "you lie" at a volume where he was clearly audible to the audience.

On March 23, 2010 a health care bill was finally signed into action by the president after finally passing votes in the House and Senate.http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20000981-503544.html

According to an analysis by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, the first year of the proposed health care plan would cost $75 billion, or about $2,500 per newly insured citizen. By 2018, the cost is expected to reach $130 billion per year with a cumulative cost of $1 trillion.Reuters: Obama health plan to cost $75 billion (November 12, 2008)

Obama's health care plan includes computerizing health care records. In early 2009, only about 8% of the country's hospitals and 17% of doctors used computerized health records. Some experts say before fully computerizing health care records, the issue of privacy needs to be addressed.CNNMoney: Obama's big idea: Digital health records (January 12, 2009)

As rumors and speculation regarding Obama's 1000-page health care plan sweep across the nation, public outcry against the proposed new system has become commonplace. Protesters have gathered in town hall meetings, speaking out about the plan and denouncing the president.

Talk of "death panels," rationing of health care and other erroneous ideas has become so rampant that the White House has constructed a website to separate fact from fiction.http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck

The Obama-Biden health plan proposes to:

1. Create an electronic information technology system for patient records
2. Require insurance policies to cover disease management programs for chronic illnesses
3. Create transparency when it comes to the quality and costs of health care
4. Help ensure high-quality care for all patients
5. Create an independent institution to evaluate health care plans and facilities
6. Initiate malpractice reform
7. Ensure more competition within the health care industry, thus lowering costs
8. Tackle insurance fraud and abuse, which will help lower costs
9. Enable Medicare to negotiate for better prescription prices
10. Lower the costs of disabling illnesses for patients
11. Require all insurance companies to cover those with pre-existing conditions
12. Establish a National Health Insurance Exchange, to allow people to enroll in a public or private plan and provide tax credits
13. Require large employers to provide adequate health coverage for employees
14. Ensure that children are covered
15. Require schools to provide a healthy environment and fight childhood obesity

On Thursday, February 25, President Obama held a summit on health care that aired on C-Span. Both Democrats and Republicans were invited to the summit, where the president attempted to convince members of both parties that his health care plan is reasonable and necessary for the American people.http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100220/ap_on_bi_ge/us_health_care_overhaul

The president spoke about what can be done to provide health care to the uninsured, as well as for those whose preexisting conditions make it difficult to afford insurance. Stated Obama,"I'd like the Republicans to do a little soul-searching and find out are there some things that you'd be willing to embrace that get to this core problem of 30 million people without health insurance and dealing seriously with the pre-existing condition issue."http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/02/25/health.care.summit.updates/index.html