What Was Obama's 2009 Health Care Reform Plan?

Question: What Was Obama's 2009 Health Care Reform Plan?

Answer: President Barack Obama's 2009 health care reform plan fulfilled his campaign pledge to reform health care. This included a public health care option that made sure all children, especially, were covered. Obama also felt it was important to have a federally-managed exchange to regulate health care information, which many opposed because it went against states' rights. He also promised to modernize health care patient information under an all-electronic system.

Once elected in 2009, Obama proposed the Health Care for America Plan. Obama's plan provided medical insurance similar to Medicare for everyone who wanted it. Those who were happy with their existing health insurance could keep it. The federal government's size meant it could bargain for lower prices and reduce inefficiencies. By pooling all the uninsured together, it decreased insurance risk.

The Health Care for America Plan covered mental health, maternal and child health. It limited annual out-of-pocket costs paid by enrollees and provided direct drug coverage.

Obama's 2009 health care reform plan gave employers a choice, as well. If they provided health insurance that was at least as good as Obama's plan, they just kept what they had. If not, employers paid a 6% payroll tax, similar to unemployment compensation, to help pay for the Obama plan. Those who were self-employed paid a similar tax.

The payment schedule for everyone else was:

• $70 for an individual.
• $140 for a couple.
• $130 for a single-parent family.
• $200 for all other families.

Obama's 2009 health care reform plan lowered health care costs by 1.5% per year, since the federal government could bargain for lower prices and reduce inefficiencies, according to the Council of Economic Advisors. Lower health care costs translated to $2,600 more per family in 2020 and $10,000 by 2030. It reduced the budget deficit by 3% of GDP by and 6% by 2040. This lowered unemployment .25% per year, creating 500,000 jobs.

Obama's 2009 health care plan would have reduced visits to the emergency room by the uninsured. This would have saved $100 billion, or .6% of GDP, per year. Government-sponsored health insurance removed this burden from small businesses, allowing them to be more competitive and attract higher-skilled workers.

Obama's plan challenged Congress to develop its own plans. The Senate approved its own Health Care Reform Bill on December 24, 2009. The House Health Care Reform Bill was approved on November 8, 2009. The bills stalled when Democrats lost their filibuster-proof 60-vote majority in the Senate on January 26 2010, when Republican Scott Brown won Ted Kennedy's seat in Massachusetts. Many thought this ended hopes of passing any health care reform bill, until President Obama launched a new health care reform proposal on February 22, 2010. (Updated February 22, 2010)