|
Dear Friend,
“This is not who we are. We have done everything right. We have done everything
we were supposed to do. This is not who we are.”
- Amy in Iowa
submitted online via
My Policy
The story of Amy and her husband, Lane, is the
story of America’s health care crisis.
Successful small business owners, Amy and Lane
provide vital Internet services to their rural Iowa community. Despite their
success, they are on the brink of bankruptcy, paying forty percent of their
annual income in health care premiums. They’ve played by the rules of the
American Dream, and it’s left them with no savings, no retirement plan, and
a growing mountain of credit card debt.
Watch a short video about Amy and Lane’s story,
and learn more about our health care plan:
http://my.barackobama.com/healthcare
Amy is right, this is not who we are. We are
not a country that rewards hard work and perseverance with bankruptcies and
foreclosures. We are not a country that allows major challenges to go unsolved
and unaddressed while our people suffer needlessly.
Amy and Lane shared their story -- their concerns,
their fears, and their hope -- with us via
My Policy
. Their experiences shaped our approach
to health care, and so can yours. Please take a minute and share your story:
http://my.barackobama.com/healthcare
Today I want to share the details of our health
care plan -- a plan that not only guarantees coverage for every American,
but also brings down the cost of health care and reduces every family’s premiums
by as much as $2,500.
My plan begins by covering every American. If
you already have health insurance, the only thing that will change for you
is that you’ll spend less money on premiums. If you are one of the 45 million
Americans who don’t have health insurance, you will have it after this plan
becomes law.
Coverage without cost containment will only shift
our burdens, not relieve them, so we will take five steps to remove
waste and inefficiency from the system:
- Catastrophic cases –- patients
with serious illnesses account for 80% of all health care and insurance costs,
and the federal government should pick up the tab for a large portion of
these cases directly.
- Prevention -- refocus our
health care system on preventing costly, debilitating conditions in the first
place.
- Quality –- track and report
treatment outcomes and reward hospitals and providers for quality rather
than quantity of service.
- Electronic Medical Records
-- move to a 21st century industry based on the latest information technology.
- Drug and Insurance Companies
-- break the stranglehold that a few big drug and insurance companies have
on the health care market.
These steps are designed to help people like Amy
and Lane create a hopeful, happy ending to their American Dream. But we’d
like to hear from all of you: families, health care providers, insurers,
businesses owners large and small, and more. We all have a stake in this,
and want to hear what you think.
Take a closer look at our plan and let us know
how it would impact your health care story:
http://my.barackobama.com/healthcare
We have come so far in the health care debate
in America, but the real challenges still need to be met. Now is the time
for a movement of Americans, working together for the common good, to deliver
on the promise of affordable health care for all.
Thank you,
Barack Obama
|
