February 22, 2010

White House Releases Details of Its Health Reform Proposal

For the first time, President Barack Obama has laid out a detailed legislative proposal for health care reform, sticking with the Democrat-supported Senate version of the plan while making concessions to the House of Representatives version of the bill, The New York Times reports. Obama released his proposal in anticipation of an all-day televised health care “summit” this Thursday, February 25, at Blair House, the president’s guesthouse.

According to the article, the bill will aim to expand coverage to the uninsured while driving down health insurance premiums. It will impose what the White House calls “common sense rules of the road” for insurance companies, including an end to discrimination against people with pre-existing conditions.

In addition, the proposal would help financially struggling states pay for Medicaid and eliminate the “doughnut hole” coverage gap in Medicare’s prescription drug program.

Like the Senate version of the health reform bill, Obama’s proposal does not include a so-called public option, or government-supported insurance plan, to compete with private companies. Instead, Obama proposes state-based insurance exchanges, or marketplaces, as opposed to a single national exchange, which was proposed by the House.

Click here to read Obama’s proposal.

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Terence Johnson, , 2010-02-23 16:11:11
Insurance cost continue to go up and the coverage is less. The donut hole really hurts not just those of us with HIV but anyone on medicare. There are so many of us who are just getting by if were are lucky. 27 years and counting being positive.

Phillip Ramsey, Panama City, 2010-02-23 09:51:15
We desperately need to eliminate the Donut Hole.