During his Presidential campaign of 2008, Barack Obama presented himself as a Centrist. Once into office, he moved hard left and alarmed middle America. In the aftermath of the August congressional recess, Obama attempted to rejuvenate the Health Care argument. Moving back to the center and playing the ‘Moral Imperative’ card (or doing it for Teddy). Speaking to the joint congress, President Obama unveiled ‘The New Deal’ on Health Care Reform.
WORKING WITH WHAT HAVE NOW: “I believe it makes more sense to build on what works and fix what doesn’t, rather than try to build an entirely new system from scratch. And that is precisely what those of you in Congress have tried to do over the past several months”.
TARGETING INSURANCE COMPANIES: “…it will be against the law for insurance companies to deny you coverage because of a pre-existing condition. As soon as I sign this bill, it will be against the law for insurance companies to drop your coverage when you get sick or water it down when you need it most. They will no longer be able to place some arbitrary cap on the amount of coverage you can receive in a given year or a lifetime. We will place a limit on how much you can be charged for out-of-pocket expenses, because in the United States of America, no one should go broke because they get sick”.
ESTABLISHING A NEW INSURANCE EXCHANGE: “…a marketplace where individuals and small businesses will be able to shop for health insurance at competitive prices. Insurance companies will have an incentive to participate in this exchange because it lets them compete for millions of new customers”.
COMPULSORY INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR THE YOUNG: “…under my plan, individuals will be required to carry basic health insurance – just as most states require you to carry auto insurance”.
NO FREE HEALTH CARE FOR ILLEGALS: “…the reforms I’m proposing would not apply to those who are here illegally”.
THE REFORM WILL PAY FOR ITSELF: “I will not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits – either now or in the future”.
TOKEN TORT REFORM: “I don’t believe malpractice reform is a silver bullet, but I have talked to enough doctors to know that defensive medicine may be contributing to unnecessary costs. So I am proposing that we move forward on a range of ideas about how to put patient safety first and let doctors focus on practicing medicine. I know that the Bush Administration considered authorizing demonstration projects in individual states to test these issues. It’s a good idea, and I am directing my Secretary of Health and Human Services to move forward on this initiative today”.
Craig Edwards
Solid Principles Co-Founder
