Combating Lies With Truth The Truth About Reform

Health Care

The following is from the whitehouse.gov and is part of an ongoing week long series of truth to combat the lies and misinformation that is being spread by those who seek to impede progress and keep the United States at its failed status quo.

The Truth About Reform

It’s time to show the insurance lobbyists that no smear campaign can match
the power of millions of regular citizens who are ready for change and
committed to the truth.
Congress must understand that if they pass reform, their constituents will
know the truth about what we’ve finally achieved.
UNDER THE PRESIDENT’S PLAN FOR REFORM:
• If you have health insurance through your employer and you like your plan, you can keep it
• If you’re a small business owner, you’ll receive new tax credits that make it easier for you to
provide coverage for employees if you choose to do so
• If you have Medicare, the President’s plan guarantees that your benefits will not be cut, and
the Medicare Trust Fund will be extended for more than 9 years
• If you’re uninsured, you could receive a tax credit to help pay for coverage if needed — part
of the largest middle class tax cut for health care in history
• Even if you currently have health insurance, there will be new protections from insurance
company abuses, and tax credits will make coverage more affordable
THE PRESIDENT’S PLAN GUARANTEES THAT:
• You will never be denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions
• You will never again be hit with arbitrary health insurance premium hikes
IF WE DO NOT PASS REFORM:
• Up to 17 million more people will be uninsured by 2019
• Insurers can continue their massive and arbitrary premium rate increases — such as Anthem
Blue Cross raising rates for customers in California by nearly 40%, and rates in Illinois going
up by as much as 60%
• As many as 275,000 people could die prematurely over the next 10 years because they don’t
have health insurance
• The average family’s health care costs will nearly double by 2020, from $13,000 to $24,000

Combating Lies With Truth What Will Health Reform Mean For Me?

Health Care

The following is from the whitehouse.gov and is part of an ongoing weeklong series of truth to combat the lies and misinformation that is being spread by those who seek to impede progress and keep the United States at its failed status quo.

What Will Health Reform Mean For You?

“I HAVE INSURANCE
THROUGH MY WORK.”
Keep your doctor and plan if
you like it, but your plan will
be strengthened and you’ll
be protected from insurance
company abuses.
• According to the independent
and non-partisan
Congressional Budget Office,
people who get coverage
through their employer today
will likely see lower premiums.
• If you like the health plan you
have, you will be able to keep
it.
• The President’s proposal will
strengthen the coverage you
get at work by reining in the
worst insurance company
abuses.
• Nothing about the President’s
proposal will interfere with
the choice of doctors you
have today, or cause you to
change the coverage you
have at work today.

“I OWN A SMALL BUSINESS.”
You won’t be required to
provide health insurance to
your employees, but if you
choose to, new tax credits
will make covering your
employees more affordable.
You will also have access to a
new insurance exchange to
find the best deal, and the
entire process will be simpler.
• The President’s proposal
provides tens of billions of
dollars in new tax credits to
small businesses to make it
easier for them to provide
coverage if they choose to do
so.
• You will be protected from
sudden, arbitrary rate hikes
because a worker gets sick;
under the President’s
proposal, insurance
companies will no longer be
permitted to base the cost of
coverage on health status.
• The President’s proposal
gives small business owners
the leverage that big
businesses enjoy by allowing
them to buy coverage
through the exchange.

“I HAVE MEDICARE.”
Health reform protects
Medicare. The President’s
proposal makes Medicare
more financially secure and
seniors who hit the
prescription drug “donut
hole” will be protected from
high costs for their medicines.
• Your guaranteed Medicare
benefits will not be cut, and the
Medicare Trust Fund will be
extended for more than 9 years.
• In addition, you will have
benefits you don’t have
today: Preventive services like
cancer screenings at no cost,
and a substantial reduction in
prescription drug prices if
you fall into that gap in
coverage known as the
“donut hole.” Over time the
proposal closes this coverage
gap completely.
• Health insurance reform will
not affect the choice of
doctors you have today and it
won’t affect your relationship
with your doctor. The
President’s plan aims to
increase the number of
primary care providers, giving
you greater access to doctors
than you have today.

“I DO NOT HAVE
INSURANCE.”
You will have access to new
insurance choices in the
same insurance marketplace
where all members of
Congress will buy their
insurance, receive tax credits
to help you afford coverage
if needed, and enjoy
protections from insurance
company abuses.
• For the first time in history,
there will be limits on how
much anyone will have to pay
to receive health care
coverage.
• If you need it, you will receive
a tax credit to help pay for
your coverage – part of the
largest middle class tax cut
for health care in history.
• Insurance companies will no
longer be allowed to simply
tell you “no.” They will be
required to offer coverage
regardless of your health
status or because of
pre-existing conditions, and
they cannot jack up rates or
drop you from your coverage
when you get sick.

“I BUY MY OWN
INSURANCE.”
There will be new protections
from insurance company
abuses, and tax credits will
make coverage more
affordable. You will have
access to new insurance
choices in the same insurance
marketplace where all
members of Congress will buy
their insurance.
• You will likely pay
less—perhaps much
less—than you do currently.
• In addition, many Americans
buying coverage in the
individual market will qualify
for tax credits that reduce
their premiums by an average
of nearly 60 percent – and
they will get better coverage
than what they have today.
• Health insurance reform will
limit what you have to pay
out of pocket, a protection
that does not exist today.
And for the first time, no one
will be required to pay more
than a set percentage of their
income on health care
coverage.

Combating lies with truth Cost of Inaction

Health Care

The following is from the whitehouse.gov and is part of an ongoing weeklong series of truth to combat the lies and misinformation that is being spread by those who seek to impede progress and keep the United States at its failed status quo.

THE COST OF INACTION

“So how much higher do 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? How many more years can the federal budget handle the crushing
costs of Medicare and Medicaid? When is the right time for health insurance reform?”
– PRESIDENT OBAMA
T H E C O S T O F I N A C T I O N
IF WE DO NOT PASS HEALTH INSURANCE REFORM:
Up to 17 million more people will be uninsured by 2019 than today. 1
The average family’s health care costs will nearly double by 2020, from $13,000 to $24,000
— meaning they’ll be paying a quarter of their income toward health care costs. 2
Insurers can continue the massive and arbitrary premium rate increases we’ve heard about
recently — such as Anthem Blue Cross raising rates for customers in California by nearly
40%, and rates in Illinois going up by as much as 60%.
As many as 275,000 people could die prematurely over the next 10 years because they
don’t have health insurance. 3
Health care costs will take up a staggering amount of our national budget. In 1960, it was 5
percent of gross domestic product (GDP), last year it was 17 percent. Costs will reach 21
percent of our economy by 2020 if we fail to act. 4
Rapidly rising costs will make it harder for employers — particularly small businesses — to
provide quality health insurance to employees, leading many to drop coverage or shift to
plans that cover less. 5
Even those who have insurance today will be less secure, and more likely to lose coverage if
they switch jobs or lose their job due to rising costs on the individual market or being
denied coverage due to a pre-existing condition. 6
1. http://www.urban.org/UploadedPDF/411965_failure_to_enact.pdf
2. Commonwealth Fund, via NYT: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/28/weekinreview/28abelson.html
3. Families USA, via NYT: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/28/weekinreview/28abelson.html
4. http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Content/Blog/The-Costs-of-Failure.aspx
5. http://www.commonwealthfund.org/Content/Blog/The-Costs-of-Failure.aspx
6. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/07/opinion/07sun1.html?pagewanted=all

Combating lies with truth

Health Care

As the final push for real health care reform occurs within the United States President Obama is expecting those that seek to impede progress to make a last ditch effort to attack the ideas of change to a broken system, and the hopes for a better country. In anticipation of the inevitable storm of lies and misinformation that surely will come from the health insurance lobbyists, President Obama will be releasing facts on the whitehouse.gov website. I would like to pass on these facts.

THE PRESIDENT’S PLAN FOR HEALTH REFORM

“At this moment, we are being called upon to fulfill our duty to the citizens of this nation
and to future generations… I don’t know how passing health care will play politically, but
I do know that it’s the right thing to do. It’s right for our families. It’s right for our
businesses. It’s right for the United States of America.”
– PRESIDENT OBAMA
Americans across this country agree that our health care system is broken: Unaccountable
insurance companies ration care, soaring premiums cripple the budgets of our businesses and
families, and vital care remains out of reach for far too many. The time for change has come.
President Obama’s final proposal incorporates the best ideas from both parties to put
Americans in control of our own health care.
HERE’ S WHAT THE PRES IDENT’ S PLAN FOR HEALTH REFORM WI L L DO:
PROTECT AMERICANS FROM INSURANCE COMPANY ABUSES
• You will never be denied coverage because of pre-existing conditions
• You will never be hit with arbitrary premium hikes
• You will never see your coverage revoked just when you get sick or injured
• You will never face unlimited out-of-pocket expenses for your care
GUARANTEE AFFORDABLE CHOICES
• If you like your current doctor and you like your current plan, you keep them
• Uninsured individuals and small business owners will become part of a powerful negotiating
pool, just like members of Congress and other federal employees, lowering prices and
increasing choice
• Struggling middle-class families will receive a tax credit to make coverage even more
affordable – the largest middle class tax cut for health care in history
REDUCE THE COST OF CARE FOR OUR FAMILIES, BUSINESSES
AND THE GOVERNMENT
• We’ll save billions of dollars every year by reducing waste and abuse in our current system
• We’ll save and create millions of jobs, raise wages and strengthen the economy
• We’ll cut the deficit by nearly $1 trillion over two decades

More to come

You may notice that this is not filed under “politics” that is because this issue goes beyond petty politics.

Live Blogging the Health Care Summit

As President Barack Obama is holding a bipartisan Health Care summit, which can be viewed on the Obama site and on C-SPAN, I will be live blogging on twitter, just go to twitter.com/yublogmichaelk or follow @yublogmichaelk

– 6+ Hours of tweets since 10AM Eastern Time starts here

——————————————————————————–
so Republicans have brought absolutely NOTHING to the table and as an American the idea that everyone is against hcr is absurd #Healthcare

the american healthcare system is not the best in the world thats why we need to change it. any one who has experience with the canadian sy[tem will know that]

RT @consumersunion Dodd: “14,000 American lose #healthcare each day.” That is really good reason to not “start over.” #hcrsummit

domestic violence is a preexisting condition wow #hcr

not me I DONT want to start over from scratch NOT ME! #hcr mccain

John Mccain saying nothing in so many words

no don’t start over starting from scratch is NOT viable #hcr

@kmajohansson not one in sight I didn’t see anyone look at their hands either

real discussion not just talking points and stubborn arguments lets get things done #hcr

@brentmaximin its on c-span if you are near a tv #hcr
about 6 hours ago via web in reply to brentmaximin
#hcr is trending

RT whitehouse Bipartisan Health Reform meeting starts now – watch live: http://wh.gov/h #hcr

Retweeted by you and 82 others
as soon as we fix health care #hcr can we get better educations, like free college?

White House ReTweet Stay tuned. Live updates will begin at 10am: http://bit.ly/cMF0dE #OFA #HCR

BarackObama About to begin the bipartisan meeting on health reform. Watch live at http://j.mp/aIfX8t. #HCRMeeting

Retweeted by you and 100+ others
@sethdmichaels i want true healthcare reform it would not be suicide for my vote

@NewRepublican intelligent to bring up it will be incorporated

@NewRepublican and tax cuts are not an idea then it will show that repubs have nothing, and if under the rare event the repubs have somethin[g]

@NewRepublican what they are going to do is republicans are going to present their ideas after it is revealed that repubs have no ideas

RT whitehouse Bipartisan Health Reform Meeting: Watch it all live with context: http://wh.gov/h We’ll be using #hcr

Retweeted by you and 50 others
@rjoseph7777 are you going to watch the live health care bipartisan meeting at 10? Use #hcr when discussing it

everyone lets get #hcr to be a trending topic

Delete Retweeted by you and 5 others
@rjoseph7777 I don’t think the teabagers are rational thinking people if they were they would have a different name

Hey Republicans! Stop complaining this is exactly what you want Inviting you to watch the bipartisan health insurance reform meeting tomorr

RT BarackObama Inviting you to watch the bipartisan health insurance reform meeting tomorrow at 10 AM ET: http://j.mp/7-h

Retweeted by you and 100+ others

Health Care And The Future of Our Humanity

This health care bill is the most important issue of the century. Debate over this represents a fight between corporate greed and the people who are taken advantage of by this greed. Whatever happens here will determine whether corporations can continue to abuse and murder or if they people will rise up and say enough is enough. There will be setbacks but the bill must be passed for the sack of humanity. The United States is the only developed nation that does not have universal health care, we live in a country where people are denied treatment because they do not have enough money so their lives are not worth an investment, how can you call yourself a citizen of a developed country when you will willfully allow your own people to die?

Congratulations America Health Care Reform is almost here

I am really excited about this, the Health Care bill narrowly passed in the House by just 5 votes 220 -215.  Now its off to the Senate, fingers crossed.  We are so close to a goal that we have been trying to attain since the Truman administration, for the first time since the election over a year ago, I am very optimistic about the way things are going now.

Aliens Or Obama?

Hi Vs I know you promised us Universal Health Care but Obama also promised that and he isn’t planning on stealing our water or eating us so I think I am going to go with his plan instead, nothing against you guys but I just dont want to become food

Health Care Video Contest

Barackobama.com had a video contest where they were looking for the best video demanding change to our healthcare system, now they are asking everyone to vote for their 20 favorites.  Here is my favorite I think it is very informative

If you want to vote for your favorite you can do so at http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/hrvcratings