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  •  Incorrect - Obama's plan includes subsidies (1+ / 0-)

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    dawnt

    Obama's website page on his healthcare plan has this:
    http://www.barackobama.com/...

    Obama's Plan to Cover Uninsured Americans: Obama will make available a new national health plan to all Americans, including the self-employed and small businesses, to buy affordable health coverage that is similar to the plan available to members of Congress. The Obama plan will have the following features:
    ...
    Subsidies. Individuals and families who do not qualify for Medicaid or SCHIP but still need financial assistance will receive an income-related federal subsidy to buy into the new public plan or purchase a private health care plan.

    Where did you get the information that Obama is "proud" of not offering any subsidies?

    A word after a word after a word is power. -- Margaret Atwood

    by tmo on Mon May 12, 2008 at 05:41:27 PM PDT

    [ Parent ]

    •  Obama Health Plan (0+ / 0-)

      I do not know the differences between the current website and previous versions.  Obama has repeatedly stated that he is going to improve the lot of "middle class" Americans, into which bundle he includes everyone making up to $250k.  His rhetoric rarely refers to the poor.

      I noticed this tilt from the start of his election run.  On January 11, 2008, he said the following in his email sent through the Kerry website when he took that mailing list over:

      I’ll be a President who finally makes health care affordable and available to every single American the same way I expanded health care in Illinois – by bringing Democrats and Republicans together to get the job done.

       

      At that time, there was no plan made for the poor.  Making it available does not provide coverage.  

      From the same email:

      I’ll be a President who ends the tax breaks for corporations that ship our jobs overseas and puts a middle-class tax cut into the pockets of the working Americans who deserve it.

      Not one word in the entire email addressing the poor.

      The use of the limitation "[i]ndividuals and families who do not qualify for Medicaid or SCHIP" is a major limitation in my view.  I have not taken enough time to review this one.

      Nonetheless, what is apparent from this plan is the decision not to invest in a true "universal health" plan.  Instead, as a voluntary plan, it has the certainty of leaving children who cannot care for themselves and others in families with no coverage at all.

      Finally, I strongly favor universal health coverage that is not so complex as these current plans.  They are too difficult to administer and to execute.  We need to nationalize healthcare in the US to ensure that we all get it, including those who cannot afford coverage and do not understand how to get it.  In this connection, we need the infrastructure to deliver adequate healthcare, which we certainly do not have today.  And we need then to embark on a more comprehensive effort to have superior healthcare, especially for those who are most needy in this country.

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