"Blueprint for Change - Obama and Biden's Plan for America" - Excerpt On Healthcare

[TomCADem]

I am also going to take the liberty of adding some bolding, and deleting all other bolding, so that no misses the unmistakable reference to a public plan:

AT A GLANCE
Reduce Health Care Costs
Obama’s plan will bring down the cost of health care and reduce a typical family’s premiums by up to $2,500 per year.
Affordable, Accessible Health Insurance Choices for All
Obama will sign a health care reform plan into law by the end of his first term in office. His plan will provide affordable, accessible health care coverage options for every American.
THE PROBLEM
Millions of Americans are Uninsured or Underinsured because of Rising Medical Costs
45.5 million Americans lack health insurance.
Health Care Costs are Skyrocketing
Health insurance premiums have doubled over the past eight years.
Too Little is Spent on Prevention and Public Health
The nation faces epidemics of obesity and chronic diseases as well as new threats of pandemic flu and
bioterrorism. Yet despite all of this less than 4 cents of every health care dollar is spent on prevention and public health.

BARACK OBAMA AND JOE BIDEN’S PLAN
Lower Costs by $2,500 per Family and Improve Quality
Health care spending is expected to double within the next decade even though Americans already spend almost twice as much per person as citizens of other industrialized countries with poorer health outcomes. Under the Obama-Biden plan, the typical family will have lower costs of $2,500. To lower these costs and improve quality, Barack Obama and Joe Biden will:
• Make an up-front investment of $50 billion in electronic health information technology systems to reduce errors, and save lives and money.
• Reduce the costs of catastrophic illnesses for employers and their employees by reimbursing employers for a portion of costs if savings were used to lower workers’ premiums.
• Require disease management programs and integrated preventive care to help bring down the costs of caring for people with chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure.
• Require health plans to disclose what percentage of premiums actually goes to patient care as opposed to administrative costs.
• Launch a comprehensive effort to tackle health care disparities.
• Reform medical malpractice while preserving patient rights, and strengthen antitrust laws to prevent insurers from overcharging doctors for malpractice insurance.
• Eliminate the excessive subsidies paid to Medicare Advantage plans and pay them the same amount it would cost to treat the same patients under traditional Medicare.
Guarantee Affordable, Accessible Health Coverage for Every American
Barack Obama and Joe Biden’s health care plan both builds on and improves the current insurance system, and leaves Medicare intact for seniors. For all Americans who like their health insurance, nothing changes except that they will have lower costs — $2,500 for a typical family. For those who do not have health insurance, they will have a range of private insurance options — accessible through a new National Health Insurance Exchange that is similar to what Members of Congress have — as well as a public plan.
The National Health Insurance Exchange will feature:
• Guaranteed Eligibility: No American will be turned away from any insurance plan because of illness or pre-existing conditions.
• Comprehensive Benefits: The benefit package will be similar to that offered through Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, the plan members of Congress have. The plan will cover all essential medical services, including preventive, maternity, and mental health care.
• Affordable Premiums, Co-Pays and Deductibles
• Tax Credits: Individuals and families who do not qualify for Medicaid or SCHIP but still need financial assistance will receive a tax credit to purchase health insurance.
• Simplified Paperwork and Reined in Health Costs
• Easy Enrollment: The National Health Insurance Exchange will be simple to enroll in and provide ready access to coverage.
• Portability and Choice: Participants will be able to move from job to job without changing or
jeopardizing their health care coverage.
• Quality and Efficiency: Participating insurance companies will be required to report data to ensure that standards for quality, health information technology and administration are being met

Support for Small Businesses
Barack Obama and Joe Biden understand that the skyrocketing cost of health care poses a serious competitive threat to America’s small businesses. Obama and Biden will create a Small Business Health Tax Credit to provide small businesses with a refundable tax credit of up to 50 percent on premiums paid by small businesses on behalf of their employees. To be eligible for the credit, small businesses will have to offer a quality health plan to all of their employees, and cover a meaningful share of the cost of employee health premiums.
Bring Down the Costs of Prescription Drugs
The second-fastest growing type of health expenses is the cost of prescription drugs. Americans should be able to afford the cutting-edge cures that our pharmaceutical industry develops. To bring down the costs of prescription drugs, an Obama-Biden Administration will:
• Allow Americans to import inexpensive and safe prescription drugs from developed countries where the same medicines are cheaper
• Increase the use of generic drugs in all public health plans, stop large drug companies from paying to keep generics out of markets to preserve their profits, and create a pathway to bring generic vaccines and other biologic medicines to the market.
• Allow Medicare to negotiate for better prices.
Promote Prevention
In the absence of a dramatic shift towards prevention and promoting public health, we will not be successful in containing medical costs or improving the health of the American people. Obesity is an epidemic that is seriously impacting the health of millions of Americans — especially children, and one third of all American are living with a chronic condition. If we put more of our health care funds into prevention, we could save tens of millions of dollars and improve millions of people’s lives. As President, Barack Obama will work with every sector of society — employers, school systems, community groups, and families — to ensure that Americans have access to preventive care. He will require that all federally-supported health care plans cover these services, and will support efforts to promote healthy habits, lifestyles, and environments.
OBAMA’S RECORD
Health Insurance: In 2003, Barack Obama sponsored and passed legislation that expanded health care coverage to 70,000 kids and 84,000 adults. In the U.S. Senate, Obama cosponsored the Healthy Kids Act of 2007 and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) Reauthorization Act of 2007 to ensure that more American children have affordable health care coverage.
Women’s Health: Obama worked to pass a number of laws in Illinois and Washington to improve the health of women. His accomplishments include creating a task force on cervical cancer, providing greater access to breast and cervical cancer screenings and helping improve prenatal and premature birth services.

See? There you have it.

[Clio the Leo]

1. How many votes did they get for this bill they offered from the campaign trail?

Did it survive a caucus vote? ....... When was it entered into the Congressional Record?

I think some of us are a bit confused.

And was Lieberman a co-sponsor of this legislation you've posted? Or did he oppose it then too?

[tblue]

2. "Guarantee Affordable, Accessible Health Coverage for Every American"

"Affordable Premiums, Co-Pays and Deductibles"

Does not define "affordable" or "every," but I will be very much looking forward to these reforms.