The chasm between actual health care delivery and the aspirations of many people has created an enormous need for reform. Most Americans would agree that there is too much inefficiency, bureaucracy, and cost-shifting in health care. Many also feel that health care is not addressing the important concerns of their families and communities.
The health insurance reform law is designed to bring more accountability, transparency and competition to the marketplace. It will help to keep premiums affordable and prevent discrimination against Americans with preexisting conditions, and it will put our budget on a sounder fiscal path by eliminating billions in government overspending and reducing waste, fraud and abuse.
The president’s health reform plan will also close the Medicare “donut hole,” which leaves 3.4 million seniors who take prescription drugs with no coverage for thousands of dollars each year. It will expand coverage to 31 million uninsured Americans by expanding Medicaid and creating competitive health insurance exchanges, and it will allow young adults to stay on their parents’ insurance until they are 26. It will make it easier for people with preexisting conditions to buy health insurance and to get the coverage they need, and it will reduce costs for tens of millions of families by providing the largest middle class tax cut for health care in history. Moreover, it will ensure that most private insurance plans cover preventive services with no copayments or deductibles. And it will support innovative new ways for patients and their families to communicate with their doctors, thereby avoiding such issues as harmful medication drug interactions, conflicting diagnoses and duplicate tests and procedures.