How Will Obama Address Health Care?
Seattle – One of President Obama’s platforms while campaigning for the presidential office involved national health care reform.
It appears he’s ready to move forward on this major issue according to an anonymous administration official.
It’s being reported that Obama’s budget proposal, slated to be presented February 26, 2009, will contain plans for providing health care coverage for all Americans. Obama has been forced to draft this upcoming budget proposal without the advice of a Health and Human Services secretary and chief aid for health policy. Senator Thomas A. Daschle withdrew from this nomination following questions related to his personal tax issues.
The President has already began work on his plans to overhaul the nation’s health care system with the stimulus package signed February 14, 2009. $20 billion has been earmarked to modernize the nation’s health care system by encouraging a move toward computerized records. $1 billion is to be channeled into research comparing the effectiveness of medical treatments. $25 billion is to be allocated to help laid-off workers pay health insurance premiums under the COBRA program. The largest provision in the legislation involves funding Medicaid with an additional $87 billion.
The Census Bureau estimates that currently one in seven Americans currently lack coverage. During Obama’s campaign, he proposed availability of subsidies to help make coverage more affordable, the creation of a public health care plan to compete with private health insurers, and plans to reduce costs associated with the delivery of health care insurance. The changes being proposed by President Obama are being closely watched by many of the Americans who have recently lost health care coverage due to the declining economy. The liberal group Center for American Progress’ Action Fund claims that their research indicated that over 4 million Americans have lost health care coverage since the economy has slid into what some are calling a recession. The group estimates that 14,000 Americans may be losing their health care benefits on a daily basis.
The majority of opinion polls suggest that Americans support government guaranteed coverage for all citizens but there is a large divide on the ways in which this should be achieved. A White House summit on health care is being planned in the next several upcoming weeks.