What’s in Health Insurance Reform for You?

President Obama held a health reform town hall this afternoon at Broughton High School in Raleigh, N.C. We’ll post video and an excerpt of his remarks later today. In the meantime, the President is highlighting eight consumer protections we all stand to gain from health insurance reform.

Defenders of the status quo have launched a massive effort to distort Democrats’ plan to reform our system - use these eight simple points to counter their arguments.

Via the White House's website:

THE SECURITY YOU GET from health insurance reform

1- No Discrimination for Pre-Existing Conditions: Insurance companies will be prohibited from refusing you coverage because of your medical history.

2- No Exorbitant Out-of-Pocket Expenses, Deductibles or Co-Pays: Insurance companies will have to abide by yearly caps on how much they can charge for out-of-pocket expenses.

3- No Cost-Sharing for Preventive Care: Insurance companies must fully cover, without charge, regular checkups and tests that help you prevent illness, such as mammograms or eye and foot exams for diabetics.

4- No Dropping of Coverage for Seriously Ill: Insurance companies will be prohibited from dropping or watering down insurance coverage for those who become seriously ill.

5- No Gender Discrimination: Insurance companies will be prohibited from charging you more because of your gender.

6- No Annual or Lifetime Caps on Coverage: Insurance companies will be prevented from placing annual or lifetime caps on the coverage you receive.

7- Extended Coverage for Young Adults: Children would continue to be eligible for family coverage through the age of 26.

8- Guaranteed Insurance Renewal: Insurance companies will be required to renew any policy as long as the policyholder pays their premium in full. Insurance companies won't be allowed to refuse renewal because someone became sick.

UPDATE: An excerpt from the President’s remarks in Raleigh is below.

“…But what a lot of chatter out there hasn't focused on is the fact that if you've got health insurance, then the reform we're proposing will also help you because it will provide you more stability and more security. Because the truth is we have a system today that works well for the insurance industry, but it doesn't always work well for you. So what we need, and what we will have when we pass these reforms, are health insurance consumer protections to make sure that those who have insurance are treated fairly and insurance companies are held accountable.

”Let me be specific. We will stop insurance companies from denying you coverage because of your medical history. I've told this story before -- I will never forget watching my own mother, as she fought cancer in her final days, worrying about whether her insurer would claim her illness was a preexisting condition so they could wiggle out of paying for her coverage. How many of you have worried about the same thing? (Applause.) A lot of people have gone through this. Many of you have been denied insurance or heard of someone who was denied insurance because they got -- had a preexisting condition. That will no longer be allowed with reform. (Applause.) We won't allow that. We won't allow that.

”With reform, insurance companies will have to abide by a yearly cap on how much you can be charged for your out-of-pocket expenses. No one in America should go broke because of an illness.

”We will require insurance companies to cover routine checkups and preventive care, like mammograms and colonoscopies, eye and foot exams for diabetics, so we can avoid chronic illnesses that cost not only lives, but money.

”No longer will insurance companies be allowed to drop or water down coverage for someone who's become seriously ill. That's not right, it's not fair. We will stop insurance companies from placing arbitrary caps on the coverage you can receive in a given year or in a lifetime.

”So my point is, whether or not you have health insurance right now, the reforms we seek will bring stability and security that you don't have today -- reforms that will become more urgent and more urgent with each passing year.

”So, in the end, the debate about reform boils down to a choice between two approaches. The first is projected to double your health care costs over the next decade, make millions more Americans uninsured, bankrupt state and federal governments, and allow insurance companies to run roughshod over consumers. That's one option. That's called the status quo. That's what we have right now.

”I want everybody to understand this. If we do nothing, I can almost guarantee you your premiums will double over the next 10 years because that's what they did over the last 10 years. It will go up three times faster than your wages, so a bigger and bigger chunk of your paycheck will be going into health insurance. It will eat into the possibility of you getting a raise on your job because your employer is going to be looking and saying, I can't afford to give you a raise because my health care costs just went up 10, 20, 30 percent. And Medicare, which seniors rely on, is going to become more and more vulnerable. On current projections, Medicare will be in the red in less than 10 years.”

Comments (9) «

I want to express my outrage at the failure of my party to get some very basic principles included in health care legislation. As a significant contributor to the past 2 presidential elections I fully expected this administration and congress (with large majorities in both houses) to expeditiously move a health care reform bill forward that included a strong public option and an employer mandate. These two items are requisite to making a significant change in the way in which health care is delivered. Unfortuantely, it appears that too many key democrats are in league with the insurance companys and big pharma rather than the American people. Unless the final bill includes these items it is unlikely that you will be able to count on me for more financial assistance. I am truly angry at the bumbling approach of my party to this critical piece of legislation.

1

semaj on July 29, 2009 at 03:10 PM

The Borgen Project has some good information on the cost of addressing global poverty (www.borgenproject.org).
It only takes $30 billion annually to end world hunger!
Yet... we are spending $550 billion annually on the defense budget.

2

hawaiianchica423 on July 29, 2009 at 07:35 PM

In regards to the post by Ohyeah123, what country are you living in? Very few Americans have access to the highest quality coverage on the planet and the fact that you would make that statement in print shows how out of touch you are with the average American. I'm sure you think of yourself as a capitalist, but you sound like a selfish elitist.

3

Calyx on July 30, 2009 at 02:17 AM

In response to ohyeah123, you forgot to add the
the 7th statement. 7) Everyone else can worry
about their own ass, as long as I get what I want.
This is exactly what is wrong with this country,
and has been wrong for thirty years.

4

socialist2 on July 30, 2009 at 08:20 AM

I contributed more money to Democratic candidates and organizations in the 2006 and 2008 elections than I did in all past elections combined. We now have a Dem majority in both houses of Congress, yet the Dems are still letting Republicans use them as doormats. I'm looking at you, Sen. Baucus and the rest of the Blue Dogs. I'm stunned that you all haven't learned by now that there's no compromising with today's GOP. It's bad enough we completely gave up on universal, single-payer health care; now members of our own party are making concessions on the public option, SCHIP, reproductive rights, and Diety knows what else. Note to every Blue Dog up for reelection in 2010 who has a true progressive primary challenger: that challenger will get my money. Of course who needs my piddly $20 when you have the entire for-profit medical and insurance industries on bankrolling you, right? It's very sad to see the Dems squander this opportunity to do right by the American people, and if it doesn't stop, we're going to lose all three branches of government again soon.

5

PattyP on July 30, 2009 at 01:25 PM

I feel our healthcare system needs some work, but not a complete overall. We do have the best medical in the world. Everyone working needs to pay for it. Not just the rich, not enough of them.

We need everyone covered, and everyone paying something into our healthcare.

We cannot cover everyone that walks into the country and wants free care. Not enough money.

It saddens me to hear Democrats complain about this great country. It you hate it, leave it. It seems people from other countries appreciate our country more than people born here. Especially people born in Socialist countries. Your quality of life will greatly depreciate, and away will go your freedoms. So, Socialist , go find another country to -ithch about.

6

Ptbaa on July 31, 2009 at 04:41 PM

The congress voted to NOT have the Health care plan for themselves. If it is not good enough for them I don't want it either.
After all, we, are paying their salaries.

7

Ptbaa on July 31, 2009 at 08:35 PM

Do the Math

Well, there is a lot of talk about the uninsured and outrage, etc. The number of chronically uninsured is around 4%. The references thrown around are usually termed "millions," which of course sounds much worse than 4%.

Running government responsibly, not emotionally, is how we help our country strong and healthy. I repeat healthy. In our nation it is not just about individuals, it is about the whole.

"Billion" has lost it's meaning. People are immune to the word when it comes to spending money in Washington. The word billion is thrown around in our government like it means nothing. How many billionaires do you know? Do you know what it takes to make a billion dollars?

If you made $100,000 a year from the day you exited the womb and lived to be 100 years old, you would still have only made 1% of a billion.

Just how loosely do think our government should use be using the money you work hard to earn?

L. Sterling

8

Sterling on August 2, 2009 at 10:05 PM

OhYeah123 on July 29, 2009 at 10:19 PM

Those appear to be reasonable requests and I, too, would like any legislation to include these basic goals. Well done.

9

BobVADemocratHawk on August 6, 2009 at 07:34 PM

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