Recap: Health Care for All v. 15 Million OBAMA LEAVES Uninsured:

[in_cog_ni_to]

Sen. Obama Speech In Wilmington, DE Misrepresents His Health Care Plan

2/3/2008 2:11:01 PM

At an event today in Wilmington, DE, Sen. Obama once again falsely claimed that his health care plan would cover every American. He said:

"I've said we are going to have a health care plan that is at least as good as the health care I have as a member of Congress, for every single American."

That's false. Sen. Obama's health care plan leaves out 15 million Americans. Sen. Clinton has a health care plan that covers everyone.



Recap: Health Care for All v. 15 Million Uninsured

11/28/2007 9:43:15 PM

"When it comes to truth in labeling, his plan simply flunks the test." —Hillary Clinton, 11/28/07

Sen. Obama claims there is no significant difference between his health care plan and Hillary's health care plan. But unlike Hillary’s American Health Choices Plan, Sen. Obama’s plan is not universal. Even Sen. Obama admits that his plan is not universal, and does not guarantee coverage.

Experts estimate that Sen. Obama’s plan will leave 15 million people uninsured. Sen. Obama has offered a variety of explanations for failing to cover all Americans. Sen. Obama’s spokesman claims that requiring coverage should be left to the states; Sen. Obama’s advisor says mandates are too ambitious and unpopular with middle class voters, and Sen. Obama says that he’ll figure out how to cover everyone later.

But Sen. Obama’s Health Care Task Force understands that Sen. Obama’s plan just isn’t good enough. Back in 2004, Sen. Obama sponsored legislation that created a Health Care Task Force. Now in 2007, Sen. Obama’s Task Force has recommended an individual mandate to provide universal coverage.

By majority vote, the Task Force decided to submit the Expansion Model described below to the Legislature...All Illinois residents will be required to obtain health care coverage and those under 400 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL) will have subsidized coverage options available to them.

Sen. Obama’s Task Force has evaluated a proposal from the insurance industry and has concluded that without a mandate, the people of Illinois will be left uninsured.

Proposal – Members of the Adequate Health Care Task Force Associated with the Insurance Industry: … Due to the voluntary nature of this proposal, slightly less than one-third of Illinois’ uninsured residents are projected to obtain coverage…"

Health care experts from around the nation overwhelmingly agree with the conclusions of Sen. Obama’s Task Force: without an individual mandate, there will be no universal health care. Even some prominent Republicans endorse individual mandates for health care reform.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger: ‘Unpaid medical bills mean billions of dollars in hidden taxes for the rest of us because those services have to be paid for.’ "More than 60 emergency rooms have closed over the past decade because they didn't want to keep treating people without insurance. Unpaid medical bills mean billions of dollars in hidden taxes for the rest of us because those services all have to be paid for. So we pay higher deductibles, costs for treatment, premiums and co-pays," said Gov. Schwarzenegger "Companies stop offering coverage, which leads to more people without insurance and the whole cycle keeps repeating. Nearly three million people in California whose jobs do provide coverage turn it down because they think they're healthy and don't need it, or they don't want to pay their share of ever-higher premiums. We have to aim high and attack the entire system from top to bottom. We can create a model the rest of the nation can follow."

Sen. Bob Bennett: ‘I think it’s in society’s best interest to have everyone have some sort of coverage…so that is how we get universal coverage.’ “I think everyone should have some kind of coverage. Let's talk about an individual mandate. I think everyone should have some kind of coverage. I think it is in society's best interest to have everyone have some kind of coverage. We do it with auto insurance. You can't drive if you don't have an individual insurance plan. So that is how we get universal coverage.”

Sec. Tommy Thompson: Everyone should be required to have health insurance – and then the premiums should be subsidized by the state. The Dunn County News reported, “47 million Americans are uninsured, and when the uninsured need health care, they go to an emergency room. ‘They end up with the most expensive health care because they can’t afford to go to a clinic,’ Thompson said, noting that everyone should be required to have health insurance — and then the premiums should be subsidized by the state.”

Sec. Paul H. O’Neill: ‘I would pass a law mandating every American to purchase a level of health care coverage.’ Paul O’Neil, former Bush administration treasury secretary, testified before the US Senate Finance Committee, “I would pass a law mandating every American to purchase a base level of health care coverage. Those that have a certain level of income and wealth must not only carry coverage, but through a simplified, fundamentally reformed tax system, provide financial support to help those who don’t have the means to fully finance their own coverage.”


http://facts.hillaryhub.com/