Information and Resources

Candidate Profile: Barack Obama

Barack Obama on Health Care

The goal of Obama’s plan is to provide health insurance coverage to every American, through both public and private means. His plan would mandate that all children have health care coverage. Those who have insurance through their employers or who qualify for Medicaid or the State Children’s Insurance Program (SCHIP) would be able to keep that coverage. For those who don’t, Obama would create a new public insurance program. People could not be turned away because of illness or pre-existing conditions. Estimated annual costs for his program would be $50-$65 billion, financed by rolling back Bush tax cuts for people making more than $250,000.

Health Insurance: Private/Government

Mandate health care coverage for all children.
Provide affordable health insurance that is portable (you can keep your insurance if you change or lose your job, etc.), for every American, regardless of illness or pre-existing conditions.
Offer a new federal public health insurance program, similar to the health care program for federal employees, available to individuals and businesses who don’t have any other coverage.
Establish a “National Health Insurance Exchange” for private insurance. It would act as a watchdog group to create rules and standards and make coverage more affordable to those who want private insurance. Participating insurers would have to offer benefits similar to those in the new public plan.
Require employers to contribute to workers’ health care insurance.
Offer small businesses a refundable tax credit of up to 50% on premiums paid by business for employees.

Medical Costs

Reduce catastrophic illness costs by reimbursing employer health plans for expenses that go above a certain threshold, as long as employers then use the savings to reduce their employees’ health insurance premiums.
Improve access to programs to manage chronic conditions.
Conduct cancer screenings, smoking cessation programs, and more by federally supported insurance programs.
Update health information technology.
Ensure full transparency by hospitals revealing quality, safety, and cost of care.

Health Savings Accounts

Currently not addressed in his health care platform.

Drugs: Costs/Importation

Use the federal government's bulk purchasing power to negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs for the Medicare Part D program. The Veterans Administration currently does this, but current Medicare law prohibits government negotiation with pharmaceutical companies.
Allow safe medicine to be imported from other developed nations.
Require federal benefit programs to use more generic drugs.
Boost competition in drug and insurance markets.
Encourage generic drugs to move quickly into the marketplace.

Drug Safety

Allow safe medicine to be imported from other developed nations.
Supported new FDA reform bill giving the agency broader regulatory powers.

Electronic Record Keeping/Technology

Update health information technology.
Move the nation to electronic record keeping for health care, using federal funds.

1 | 2

Next Page >

WebMD Medical Reference

Healthy Eating and Diet Highlights

Hot Topics

Health Solutions From Our Sponsors

Joint Pain Help Center

Relapsing MS

WebMD Video: Now Playing

Michelle Obama’s Nutrition Tips for Moms

First Lady Michelle Obama shares tips on parenting with moms and other audience members in a WebMD Town Hall meeting in Miami, Florida.

Fresh Breath Tips

Truth About Naps

Sneaky Sugars

Antioxidant Supplements for Memory

FROM CBS NEWS

Study: "Gaydar" might be real

Subjects saw photographs of gay and straight men and women devoid of hair, makeup and ears, and predicted their sexual orientation at an above average percentage