Let's Do Our Homework: The President's Plan for Health Care Reform

It's time to go to work to get this health care reform plan passed in Congress. You can send a letter of support to your members of Congress by going to this page. Pass this on to everyone you know. Here is the information on the plan, right from Organizing for America.

If you have health insurance, the President's plan:

Ends discrimination against people with pre-existing conditions

Limits premium discrimination based on gender and age.

Prevents insurance companies from dropping coverage when people are sick and need it most.

Caps out-of-pocket expenses so people don’t go broke when they get sick.

Eliminates extra charges for preventive care like mammograms, flu shots and diabetes tests to improve health and save money.

Protects Medicare for seniors.

Eliminates the “donut-hole” gap in coverage for prescription drugs.

If you don't have insurance, the President's plan:

Creates a new insurance marketplace — the Exchange — that allows people without insurance and small businesses to compare plans and buy insurance at competitive prices

Provides new tax credits to help people buy insurance.

Provides small businesses tax credits and affordable options for covering employees.

Offers a public health insurance option to provide the uninsured and those who can’t find affordable coverage with a real choice.

Immediately offers new, low-cost coverage through a national “high risk” pool to protect people with preexisting conditions from financial ruin until the new Exchange is created.

For all Americans, the President's plan:

Won’t add a dime to the deficit and is paid for upfront.

Requires additional cuts if savings are not realized.

Implements a number of delivery system reforms that begin to rein in health care costs and align incentives for hospitals, physicians, and others to improve quality.

Creates an independent commission of doctors and medical experts to identify waste, fraud and abuse in the health care system.

Orders immediate medical malpractice reform projects that could help doctors focus on putting their patients first, not on practicing defensive medicine.

Requires large employers to cover their employees and individuals who can afford it to buy insurance so everyone shares in the responsibility of reform.