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Health Reform Road Trip; Losing Health Insurance; Tax Tips for Unemployed
Aired March 08, 2010 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: It is Monday, the 8th day of March. Top stories for you in the CNN NEWSROOM.
President Obama trying to push health care over the finish line. His remarks live from Pennsylvania shortly.
States making deep cuts in health care programs for the poor, how one family is saving Carlos despite the financial crisis.
Parents and students, boy, on a radical learning curve when a major American city shut almost half its schools. It may happen. I will talk live with the Kansas City school superintendent.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris, and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
So, President Obama takes his pitch for health care reform on the road. The president about to speak shortly in Glenside, Pennsylvania. He is hoping to draw support for his reform plan. It is a tough sell on the road and in Washington.
Details now from White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The administration insists there's no deadline for passing a health care bill. Kathleen Sebelius, Health and Human Services secretary.
KATHLEEN SEBELIUS, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Secretary: What we're talking about, as the president said, is finishing the job and the urgency, the timetable, is not about some congressional time clock.
MALVEAUX: But time may be running out to resuscitate health care reform. In fact, President Obama is on the road this week with town hall meetings, in Philadelphia and St. Louis, to convince the American people that a health care overhaul has to happen now.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If we let this opportunity pass for another year, or another decade, or another generation, more Americans will lose their family's health insurance if they switch jobs or lose their job. More small businesses will be forced to choose between health care and hiring. More insurance companies will raise premiums and deny coverage, and the rising cost of Medicare and Medicaid will sink our government deeper and deeper into debt.
MALVEAUX: It's a tough sell to voters and lawmakers alike, who worry about the effect on patient choice and the plan's price tag.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), MINORITY LEADER: This is a bill that should not be passed. It is not going to improve American health care. It will raid Medicare, raise taxes, raise premiums. We ought to be going step by step to fix the cost problem.
MALVEAUX: And the possibility that Democrats may use a process known as reconciliation to limit debate on the bill has angered many Republicans.
SEN. ORRIN HATCH (R), UTAH: What they're trying to do is put through a bill that the American public doesn't want, by a totally partisan vote, and that's not what reconciliation is all about.
MALVEAUX: Democrats hope they have the votes to pass a bill. But some in the president's own party remain skeptical. And with mid- term elections coming in November, many are unsure just how they'll vote.
REP. JASON ALTMIRE (D), PENNSYLVANIA: In the end I have to make a decision between passing this bill, this is the finish line, or doing nothing. And I'm weighing the balance between the two.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Let's bring in our White House correspondent, Dan Lothian. He is traveling with the president in Glenside, Pennsylvania. And Dan is on the phone with us.
Dan, how much of this speech today coming up in minutes is going to be about an explainer of what's in the proposal, what the president wants moving forward? And how much of this is going to be purely rally?
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think it's going to be a little bit of both. I don't expect that the president's going to lay out all the minute details of this health care plan.
I think he's going to say broadly that, you know, this is -- health care reform is necessary not only for each one of you here inside this gym, but also for small business owners, people who over the last few years have seen their premiums skyrocket. And we've seen this administration now, over the last few weeks, really, ramping that focus up, using letters or e-mails that the president gets from people who will point out that they're suffering with cancer and their premiums have gone up by 25 percent, 45 percent, they can't afford to continue paying these high premiums. And one of the things, Tony, that I think you'll see different today is the administration really hitting hard -- you know, these big insurance companies.
Last week, for instance, the president and his Health and Human Services secretary really started going after these CEOs of these insurance companies, saying that they have to justify their rate hikes. Well, today, what the White House is touting the president will do is talk about this Goldman Sachs analysis that points out that these insurance companies are going to be making some huge profits going forward, that competition is down. And so, therefore, sort of making the case that it's a good investment.
And what the administration will say is, listen, you know, these insurance companies aren't going to change what they're doing, so we need health care reform in order to make sure that you can afford the premiums that you're paying for health care reform. That's what we're going to be hearing from the administration today here -- Tony.
HARRIS: OK.
Dan Lothian on the phone with us, traveling with the president. And we'll get to the president's remarks shortly, right here in the NEWSROOM.
You know, President Obama points to the rising cost of health care in making his case for reform. You just heard that from Dan Lothian. Employers are facing higher costs as well, and employees are picking up more of the tab.
A Towers Perrin survey found that employers paid 39 percent more in 2008 than five years earlier, from $5,100 to a little more than $7,000. Employees paid 61 percent more, from $1,284 to more than $2,000.
Other big stories we are following for you this morning in the CNN NEWSROOM.
It is still not clear whether American al Qaeda spokesman Adam Gadahn is in custody. The Pakistanis say they've got him, but U.S. intelligence officials are skeptical. Gadahn is charged with treason. He often speaks on al Qaeda video messages.
President Obama wants a retired Army major general to lead security at the nation's airports. Sources tell CNN Robert Harding is expected to be nominated today for the top job at the Transportation Security Administration. The president's first TSA nominee withdrew after being blocked in the Senate.
Iraq's Election Commission puts Sunday's turnout at around 55 percent despite violence. Results expected in just a couple of days. The election helped set the stage for U.S. combat troops to pull out in five months. CNN asked the top U.S. commander in Iraq about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: You recently signaled to President Obama that you may have to leave one combat brigade in the northern part of the country past the August 31st deadline.
Where are you with that?
GEN. RAY ODIERNO, COMMANDER, MULTINATIONAL FORCE, IRAQ: We have many different scenarios. And there's different scenarios that are presented if there's some sort of catastrophic problems that we would have to react to.
The bottom line is, we're planning on being at 50,000 by September. We're planning on ending combat operations. We do much contingency planning, but that's all it is, is contingency planning at pace. My thoughts are we'll be at 50,000 by the first of September.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Got to tell you, it is a bit of a nightmare scenario.
You want to try to scoot through there? Go ahead. All right.
It's a nightmare scenario being dropped from your health insurance plan. How often does this actually happen in America? We are digging deeper in a fact check with Suzanne Simons. She joins us in just a moment.
And Rob Marciano -- this is the shot we were trying to work out -- there we go, it worked out. Rob is checking weather for us, of course, including storms in the Rockies.
But first -- good to see you, Doctor. Good morning. But first, the latest numbers on the New York Stock Exchange.
The Dow, let's call it flat. We're up just three points.
We're following these numbers throughout the morning, throughout the day for you, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: You know, the Obama administration is making a final push for health care reform. The secretary of Health and Human Services cites a sobering statistic to make the case.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KATHLEEN SEBELIUS, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: What we're hearing from people across America is that even people who have insurance are terrified about what's going on in the marketplace. They're opening their statements, they're seeing these incredible rate increases if they're not protected by a large employer. It's going on across the country.
We just got a Goldman Sachs analyst who said that the market competition is decreasing in this country, that in the individual market, in the small group market where small employers are absolutely caught, they have no choice and they are getting increasingly frustrated. So I think we know what doing nothing looks like, and it looks pretty scary.
Fifteen thousand people a day lose their insurance. And some of those folks are being actually priced out of the marketplace.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Well, a lot to chew on there. We could spend some time on this, right?
Suzanne Simons is here.
SUZANNE SIMONS, CNN EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Yes, 15,000 people a day, though. How does that grab you?
HARRIS: OK, let's -- Suzanne is with our Fact Check Desk. And she's been looking at these numbers.
What about that claim, 15,000 people a day being dropped from --
SIMONS: Insurance, losing their insurance every day.
HARRIS: -- insurance, yes.
SIMONS: Well, we wanted to know where that figure came from. So the Fact Check Desk --
HARRIS: You've got to go slow. No. Try to roll that off quickly, boy, you hurt yourself.
SIMONS: -- we did a little digging, and here's what we found.
Now, it looks like that figure was drawing on figures from the liberal Center for American Progress that dated back from February of 2009. The jobless numbers had grown between December, 2008 and February, 2009 to the tune of about 1.1 million unemployed workers.
Now, the figures was about 8.2 percent unemployment, February last year. All right?
HARRIS: Right. Right.
SIMONS: So estimates were that about 900,0of those 1.1 million had lost their health care coverage, which if you do the math, it turns out to be about 14,000 a day.
Now, jump to today and more recent figures, and we see that the jobless rate is higher, actually, 9.7 percent. But the economic stimulus bill provided for more COBRA coverage. Now, that's the government subsidized gap. They help you pay your insurance when you're out of work.
A December report by Commonwealth Fund shows that roughly twice as many laid-off workers were enrolling in COBRA. So, bottom-lining it, that 15,000 figure is probably pretty much out of date. When we look at today's figures, with the increased use of COBRA coverage, I'm sure that number is a lot lower.
HARRIS: OK. So 15,000 might be out of date, but we really don't have a firm guestimate even of what the better figure might be?
SIMONS: Right. And here's the reason why it's so hard to chase a lot of this down.
There are different groups and think tanks. Some of them politically aligned with one party or another. So what we try to do is sift through the politics and find the most recent numbers.
HARRIS: Well, that's still too many people a day.
SIMONS: Yes. But, you know, are you e-mailing us, Tony, at our e-mail address?
HARRIS: Well, will you give the e-mail address to everyone so everyone can participate?
SIMONS: Yes -- factcheck@cnn.com.
HARRIS: And if you've got questions about something you've heard on the air, right, send the e-mail and your team -- you've got a great team -- will jump on it.
SIMONS: We've got a lot of smart viewers out there who are helping us out as well. We like that.
HARRIS: And the other piece here, have you put all of the fact checks you've been accumulating over the last couple of months? Is there a central place where folks can go?
SIMONS: I know you go to CNN.com regularly. Right?
HARRIS: I do, yes.
SIMONS: And all of our fact checks are going to be found starting tomorrow at CNN.com.
HARRIS: You promised me that a week ago.
SIMONS: I know. I know.
HARRIS: Is it tomorrow now?
SIMONS: Tomorrow. Promise.
HARRIS: All right, lady. Good to see you. Thank you.
SIMONS: Thanks.
HARRIS: Still to come, you know, you may be out of work, but you still have to pay Uncle Sam. Really? We've got some tax tips for you coming up right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: All right. As you know, look, we go through this every year. Tax time can be pretty painful, especially for those without jobs.
If you are unemployed, there are a few twists and turns in the tax code that can work to your benefit. Ines Ferre has advice for you in today's tips.
Good to see you, lady. Do you have to even pay taxes if you didn't work at all in 2009?
INES FERRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes. Well, probably.
HARRIS: I know you have to file, though, right? Definitely file.
FERRE: Well, you've got to file, and especially if you're expecting money back. You've got to file.
But, Tony, probably. Even if you didn't work, you're probably getting unemployment. And you do have to pay taxes on that.
Also, if you received a W-2 and made at least $9,350 as a single person, you're required to send in a return. And let's say, Tony, that you decided to freelance or start a business. Well, you have to file a tax return if you made more than $400 in profit on that -- Tony.
HARRIS: What benefits are available to the unemployed?
FERRE: OK. Well, look, traditionally, every penny of unemployment insurance is taxed. And with so many job losses, now that rule is changing this year.
If you received unemployment checks last year, you can exclude the first $2,400 when you file your return. And you have to remember to do the math yourself since the documents from your state employment agency won't exempt it. This benefit though won't be around next year.
So, also, Tony, you can avoid a penalty tax on IRA and 401(k) withdrawals if you took the money out to pay for medical expenses. And if you've been laid off and you're 55 years or older, you can take money out of your 401(k) without penalty.
HARRIS: Got you.
Any breaks for those folks who are out there looking for a job, job seekers right now?
FERRE: Yes. Actually, you do get some breaks.
If you itemize, you can deduct job hunting expenses. There are, though, rules.
All of your deductions must exceed two percent of your adjusted gross income. And let's take a look at what you can deduct -- resume prints costs, postage, long distance calls and faxes, travel expenses including air fare, taxis or tolls. Also, don't forget you can deduct your medical expenses if those expenses exceed 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income. And that used to be a huge hurdle.
But if you're in compliance because of unemployment, now you may very well be able to deduct your medical expenses. So you have to hold on to those drugstore receipts, those prescription orders, co-pay information.
Also, Tony, of course, if you have tax -- or if you have tax or money questions that you want answered, you can just e-mail them to us at cnnhelpdesk@cnn.com.
HARRIS: Nice. Awesome. Ines, thank you very much. See you next hour.
FERRE: See you.
HARRIS: I believe we have live pictures now -- we do? OK -- of Arcadia University. This is in Glenside, Pennsylvania. The president is speaking shortly there on health care insurance -- health insurance reform.
When the president begins his remarks -- it's probably going to be a bit here. There are a number of speakers before the president gets his turn at the podium. But when he does, we will take you back to Arcadia University, live in Pennsylvania.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Let's get you caught up on top stories now in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Dozens of aftershocks are rattling east-central Turkey today. Stone and mud brick homes crumbled overnight during a magnitude 5.9 earthquake. More than 50 deaths are reported. Many of the victims were crushed while they slept.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates is in Afghanistan today looking ahead to an expected offensive in Kandahar later this year. The city has long been home base for the Taliban. Gates complicated the military drive in the city of Marjah. He cautioned there will be very hard fighting ahead.
And for the next six weeks, the python hunting season in south Florida. We've got the video. That's what's driving this story.
Wildlife officials are hoping to slow the spread of pythons in the Everglades and beyond. The snakes are not native to south Florida. Many pet pythons escaped into the Everglades after Hurricane Andrew.
A big night for Hollywood. Oscar winners and losers and history- making moments.
We are back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: All right. Let's get you to the president now. He is in Glenside, Pennsylvania, and he's talking health care reform.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
OBAMA: -- outstanding service to our nation before he was in Congress. Joe Sestak is in the house.
(APPLAUSE)
One of the sharpest members of Congress -- technically not his state, but it's just from right next door, in New Jersey. So he's practically -- we've got some Jersey folks here. Rob Andrews in the house.
And the great mayor of Philadelphia, Michael Nutter. Kind of a little warm here, so -- all right.
(APPLAUSE)
It's a little hot up here.
And to Arcadia University --
(APPLAUSE)
Thank you! Thank you guys for hosting this.
I was asking about that castle on the way in, by the way. I mean, I thought the White House was pretty nice, but that castle, that's -- well, it is great to be back here in the Keystone State. It's even better to be out of Washington, D.C.
First of all, the people of D.C. are wonderful. They're nice people. They're good people. Love the city, the monuments, everything.
But when you're in Washington, folks respond to every issue, every decision, every debate, no matter how important it is, with the same question: Well, what does this mean for the next election? What does it mean for your poll numbers? Is this good for the Democrats or good for the Republicans? Who won the news cycle?
That's just how Washington is. They can't help it. They're obsessed with the sport of politics, and so that's the environment in which elected officials are operating. And you've seen all the pundits pontificating and talking over each other on the cable shows, and they're yelling and shouting.
They can't help themselves. That's what they do. But out here, and all across America, folks are worried about bigger things.
They're worried about how to make payroll. They're worried about how to make ends meet. They're worried about what the future will hold for their families and for our country. They're not worrying about the next election. We just had an election.
(APPLAUSE) They're worried about the next paycheck or the next tuition payment that's due.
(APPLAUSE)
They're thinking about retirement. You want -- you want people in Washington to spend a little less time worrying about our jobs; a little more time worrying about your jobs.
(APPLAUSE)
Despite all the challenges we face -- two wars, the aftermath of a terrible recession -- I want to tell everybody here today I'm absolutely confident that America will prevail; that we will safe (ph) our destiny as past generations have done. That's who we are. We don't give up. We don't quite. Sometimes we take out lumps, but we just keep on going. That's who we are.
But that only happens when we're meeting our challenges squarely and honestly. And I have to tell you, that's why we are fighting so hard to deal with the health care crisis in this country, health care costs that are growing every single day.
I want to spend some time talking about this. The price of health care is one of the most punishing costs for families and for businesses and for our government.
(APPLAUSE)
It's forcing people to cut back or go without health insurance.
It -- it forces small businesses to choose between hiring or health care.
It's plunging the federal government deeper and deeper and deeper into debt.
The young people who are here, you've heard stories -- some of you still have health care while you're in school, some of you may still be on your parents' plans, but some of the highest uninsurance rates are among young people and it's getting harder and harder to find a job that's going to provide you with health care.
And a lot of you right now feel like you're invincible so you don't worry about it.
(APPLAUSE)
But let me tell you, when you hit 48 --
(LAUGHTER)
-- you start realizing, things start breaking down a little bit.
(LAUGHTER)
And the insurance companies continue to ration health care based on who's sick and who's healthy, on who can pay and who can't pay.
That's the status quo in America. And it is a status quo that is unsustainable for this country. We can't have a system that works better for the insurance companies than it does for the American people.
(APPLAUSE)
We need to give families and businesses more control over their own health insurance. And that's why we need to pass health care reform; not next year, not five years from now, not 10 years from now, but now.
(APPLAUSE)
Now, since we took this issue on a year ago, there have been plenty of folks in Washington who've said that, "The politics is just too hard." They've warned us, "We may not win." They've argued, "Now is not the time for reform. It's going to hurt your poll numbers. How's it going to affect Democrats in November? Don't do it now."
My question to them is, when's the right time?
(APPLAUSE)
If not now, when? If not us, who?
Think about it. We've been talking about health care for nearly a century. I'm reading a biography of Teddy Roosevelt right now. He was talking about it -- Teddy Roosevelt.
We have failed to meet this challenge during periods of prosperity and also during periods of decline. Some people say, well, don't do it right now because the economy's weak. When the economy was strong, we didn't do it. We talked about it during Democratic administrations and Republican administrations. I've got all my Republican colleagues out there saying, "Well, no, no, no. We want to focus on things like cost." You had 10 years. What happened?
(APPLAUSE)
What were you doing?
(APPLAUSE)
Every year, the problem gets worse. Every year, insurance companies deny more people coverage because they're got preexisting conditions. Every year, they drop more people's coverage when they get sick, right when they need it most. Every year, they raise premiums higher and higher and higher.
Just last month, Anthem Blue Cross in California tried to jack up rates by nearly 40 percent -- 40 percent. Anybody's paycheck gone up 40 percent?
(LAUGHTER) I mean, why is it that we -- we think this is normal? In my home state of Illinois, rates are going up by as much as 60 percent. You just heard Leslie who was hit with more than 100 percent increase -- 100 percent; one letter from her insurance company and her premiums doubled just like that.
And because so many of these markets are so concentrated, it's not like you can go shopping. You're stuck. You've got a choice: either no health insurance, in which case you're taking a chance if somebody in your family gets sick, that you will go bankrupt and lose your home and lose everything you've had; or you keep on ponying up money that you can't afford.
See, these insurance companies have made a calculation. Listen to this. The other day, there was a conference call that was organized by Goldman Sachs. You know Goldman Sachs. You've been hearing about them.
(LAUGHTER)
So they organize a conference call in which an insurance broker was telling Wall Street investors how he expected things to be playing out over the next several years. This broker said that insurance companies know they will lose customers if they keep on raising premiums, but because there's so little competition in the insurance industry, they're OK with people being priced out of the insurance market because, first of all, a lot of folks are going to be stuck. And even if some people drop out, they'll still make more money by raising premiums on customers that they keep.
And they will keep on doing this for as long as they can get away with it. This is no secret. They're telling their investors this -- "We are in the money. We are going to keep on making big profits even though a lot of folks are going to be put under hardship."
So how much higher to premiums have to rise until we do something about it?
How many more Americans have to lose their health insurance? How many more businesses have to drop coverage?
All those young people out here, after you graduate, you're going to be looking for a job. Think about the environment that's going to be out there when a whole bunch of potential employers just tell you, "You know what, we just can't afford it." Or, "You know what, we're going to have to take thousands of dollars out of your paycheck because the insurance companies just jacked up our rates."
How many years -- how many more years can the federal budget handle the crushing costs of Medicare and Medicaid. That's the debt you're going to have to pay, young people.
When's the right time for health insurance reform?
(APPLAUSE) Is it a year from now or two years from now or five years from now or 10 years from now? I think it's right now, and that's why you're here today.
(APPLAUSE)
Leslie is a single mom, just like my mom was a single mom, trying to put her daughter through college. She knows that the time for reform is now.
Natoma Canfield, self-employed cancer survivor from Ohio, she wrote us a letter. Last year her insurance company charged her over $6,000 in premiums, paid about $900 worth of care. Now they've decided to jack up her rates 40 percent next year, so she's had to drop her insurance even though it may cost her the house that her parents built. Natoma knows it's time for reform.
Laura Klinska (ph), this is a friend of mine, somebody I met when I was campaigning in Wisconsin, Green Bay, Wisconsin.
She's a young mother. She's got two kids. She thought she had beaten her breast cancer but later discovered it had spread to her bones.
She and her husband had insurance, but their medical bills still landed them with tens of thousands dollars' worth of debt. And now she spends her time worrying about that debt, when all she wants to do is spend time with her children.
I just talked to Laura this past weekend. And let tell you, she knows that the time for reform is right now.
So what should I tell these Americans, that Washington's not sure how it will play in November, that we should walk away from this fight, or do something -- do something like some on the other side of the aisle have suggested, well, we'll do it incrementally; we'll take baby steps; we'll do --
AUDIENCE: No! (ph)
OBAMA: So they want me to pretend to do something that doesn't really help these folks.
We have debated health care in Washington for more than a year. Every proposal has been put on the table. Every argument has been made.
I know a lot of people view this as a partisan issue. But both parties have found areas where we agree. What we've ended up with is a proposal that's somewhere in the middle, one that incorporates the best from Democrats and Republicans, the best ideas.
Think about -- think about along the spectrum of how we can approach health care.
On one side of the spectrum there were those at the beginning of this process who wanted to scrap our system of private insurance and replace it with a government-run health care system like they have in some other countries.
(APPLAUSE)
Look, it works. It works in places like Canada. But I didn't think it was going to be practical and realistic to do it here.
On the other side of the spectrum, there are those who believe that the answer is just to loosen regulations on insurance companies. This is what we heard at the health care summit. They said, "Well, you know what, if we had fewer regulations on the insurance companies, whether it's consumer protections or basic standards on what kind of insurance they sell, somehow market forces'll make things better."
Well, we've tried that. I'm concerned that would only give insurance companies more leeway to raise premiums and deny care.
(APPLAUSE)
So the bottom line is, I don't believe we should give government or insurance companies more control over health care in America. I believe it's time to give you, the American people, more control over your own health insurance.
(APPLAUSE)
And that's why my proposal builds on the current system, where most Americans get their health insurance from their employer. If you like your plan, you can keep your plan. If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor.
But I can tell you, as the father of two young girls, I don't want a plan that interferes with the relationship between a family and their doctor. So we're going to preserve that.
Essentially, my proposal would change three things about the current health care system. Listen up.
First, it would end the worst practices of insurance companies. Within the first year of signing health care reform, thousands of uninsured Americans with preexisting conditions would suddenly be able to purchase health insurance for the very first time in their lives or the first time in a long time.
(APPLAUSE)
This year, insurance companies will be banned forever from denying coverage to children with preexisting conditions.
(APPLAUSE)
This year they will be banned from dropping your coverage when you get sick.
(APPLAUSE) And they will no longer be able to arbitrarily and massively hike your premiums just like they did to Leslie or Natoma or millions of other Americans. Those practices will end.
(APPLAUSE)
If this reform becomes law, all new insurance plans will be required to offer free preventive care to their customers starting this year -- free checkups so that we can catch preventable diseases on the front end.
(APPLAUSE)
Starting this year, there will be no more lifetime or restrictive annual limits on the amount of care that you can receive from your insurance companies. There's a lot of fine print in there that can end up costing people hundreds of thousands of dollars because they hit a limit.
If you're a young adult, which many of you are, you'll be able to stay on your parents' insurance policy until you're 26 years old.
(APPLAUSE)
And there will be a new independent appeals process for anybody who feels they were unfairly denied a claim by their insurance company.
So you'll have recourse if you're being taken advantage of.
(APPLAUSE)
So -- so that's the first thing that would change and it would change fast. Insurance companies would finally be held accountable to the American people. That's number one.
Two number -- the second thing that would change about the current system is this: For the first time in their lives, or oftentimes in a very long time, uninsured individuals and small- business owners will have the same kind of choice of private health insurance that members of Congress get for themselves.
(APPLAUSE)
If it's good enough for Congress, it should be good enough for the people paying Congress' salary. That's you.
(APPLAUSE)
Now -- now, the idea is very simple here. And it's one --
(CROSSTALK)
I'm sorry. Go ahead.
(APPLAUSE) Let me explain how this would work, because it's an idea that a lot of Republicans have embraced in the past.
What my proposal says is that if you aren't part of a big group, if you don't work for a big company, you can be part of a pool which gives you bargaining power over insurance companies. It's very straight-forward.
Suddenly, just like the federal employees -- there are millions of them, so they can drive a harder bargain with insurance companies -- you, as an individual or a small-business owner, could be part of this pool which would give you more negotiating power with the insurance companies for lower rates and a better deal.
(APPLAUSE)
Right? Now --
(APPLAUSE)
If you still can't afford the insurance that's offered, even though it's a better deal than you can get on your own, but you still just can't get it, then what we're going to do is give you a tax credit to do so. And these tax credits add up to the largest middle- class tax cut for health care in history.
(APPLAUSE)
Because the wealthiest among us, they can already afford to buy the best insurance there is. The least well-off are already covered through Medicaid. It's the middle class that gets squeezed. That's who we need to help with these tax credits. That's what we intend to do.
(APPLAUSE)
Now, I want to be honest. Let's be clear. This will cost some money. It's going to cost about $100 billion per year. Most of this comes from the nearly $2.5 trillion a year that America already spends on health care. It's just that right now, a lot of that money is being wasted or it's being spent badly.
So with this plan, we're going to make sure that the dollars we spend go to making insurance more affordable and more secure. So I'll give you an example. We're going to eliminate wasteful taxpayer subsidies that currently go to insurance and pharmaceutical companies.
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They are getting billions of dollars a year from the government, from taxpayers, when they're making a big profit. I'd rather see that money going to people who need it.
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We'll set a new fief (ph) on insurance companies that stand to gain as millions of Americans are able to buy insurance. They're going to have 30 million new customers. There's nothing wrong with them paying a little bit of the freight.
And we'll make sure that the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share of Medicare, just like everybody else does. So --
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So the bottom line is this. Our proposal is paid for. All the new money generated in this plan goes back to small-business owners and individuals in the middle-class who, right now, are having trouble getting insurance.
It would lower prescription drug prices for seniors.
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It would help train new doctors and nurses to provide care for American families and physicians' assistants and therapists.
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I know they've got great programs here at Arcadia.
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I was hearing about the terrific programs you have at Arcadia in the health care field.
Well, you know what? We're going to need more health care professionals of the sorts that are being trained here. And we want to help you get that training. And that's in this bill.
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Now -- so I've mentioned two things now: insurance reform and making sure the people who don't have health insurance are able to get it.
Finally, my proposal would bring down the cost of health care for millions, families, businesses, and the federal government.
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As I said, you keep on hearing from critics and some of the Republicans on these Sunday shows say, well, we want to do more about costs. We have now incorporated almost every single serious idea from across the political spectrum about how to contain the rising costs of health care, ideas that go after waste and abuse in our system, including in programs like Medicare.
But we do this while protecting Medicare benefits. And we extend the financial stability of the program by nearly a decade.
And our cost-cutting measures mirror most of the proposals in the current Senate bill, which reduces most people's premiums and brings down our deficit by up to $1 trillion over the next decade because we're spending our health care dollars more wisely.
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Those aren't my numbers.
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Those aren't my numbers. They are the savings determined by the Congressional Budget Office, which is the nonpartisan, independent referee of Congress for what things cost.
So that's our proposal -- insurance reform, making sure that you can have choices in -- the marketplace for health insurance and making it affordable for people, and reducing costs.
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I think about -- I think -- how many people would like a proposal that holds insurance companies more accountable?
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How many people would like to give Americans the same insurance choices that members of Congress get?
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And how many would like a proposal that brings down costs for everyone?
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That's our proposal and it is paid for, and it's a proposal whose time has come. So the United States Congress owes the American people a final up-or-down vote on health care.
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It's time to make a decision. The time for talk is over. We need to see where people stand, and we need all of you to help us win that vote.
So I need you to knock on doors, talk to your neighbors, pick up the phone. When you hear an argument by the water cooler and somebody's saying this or that about it, say, "No, no, no, no. Hold on a second."
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And we need you to make your voices heard all the way in Washington, D.C.
OBAMA: They --
(APPLAUSE) They need to -- they need to hear your voices because right now the Washington echo chamber is in full throttle. It is as deafening as it's ever been. And as we come to that final vote, that echo chamber's telling members of Congress, "Think about the politics," instead of thinking about doing the right thing.
That's what Mitch McConnell said this weekend. His main argument was, well, this is going to be really bad for Democrats politically.
Now, first of all, I generally wouldn't take advice about what's good for Democrats.
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But setting aside that, that's not the issue here. The issue here is not the politics of it. But that's what people -- that's what members of Congress are hearing right now on the cable shows and in the -- sort of the gossip, you know, columns in Washington. It's telling Congress: Comprehensive reform's failed before. Remember what happened to Clinton. It may just be too politically hard.
Yes, it's hard. It is hard. That's because health care is complicated. Health care is a hard issue. It's easily misrepresented. It's easily misunderstood. So it's hard for some members of Congress to make this vote. There's no doubt about that.
But you know what else is hard? What Leslie and her family are going through, that's hard.
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The possibility that Natoma Canfield might lose her house because she's about to lose her health insurance, that's hard.
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Laura Klinska (ph) up in Green Bay having to -- having to worry about her cancer and her debt at the same time, trying to explain that to her kids, that's hard.
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What's hard is what millions of families and small businesses are going through because we allow the insurance industry to run wild in this country.
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So let me remind everybody, those of us in public office were not sent to Washington to do what's easy.
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We weren't sent there because of the big fancy title. We weren't sent there to -- because of the big fancy office. We weren't sent there just so everybody can say how wonderful we are. We were sent there to do what was hard.
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We were sent there to take on the tough issues. We were sent there to solve the big challenges. And that's why we're there.
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And at this moment -- at this moment, we are being called upon to fulfill our duty to the citizens of this nation and to future generations.
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So I'll be honest with you, I don't know how passing health care will play politically. But I do know that it's the right thing to do.
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It's right for our families. It's right for our businesses. It's right for the United States of America.
And if you share that belief, I want you to stand with me and fight with me. And I ask you to help us get us over the finish line these next two weeks.
The need is great. The opportunity is here. Let's seize reform. It's within our grasp.
Thank you very much, everybody. God bless.
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