Obama Wants To Expand Coverage To 31 Million Uninsured People In Health Care Plan

Using the Health Care bill signed by the Senate on Dec. 24 as a jumping-off point, President Obama unleashed his version of the plan this morning on the White House website.

According to the Obama team’s calculations, the plan would provide medical care for 31 million currently uninsured Americans at a cost of $950 billion over 10 years. That’s a 9.2% increase over what the Senate had planned to spend, but almost 10% less than the $1.05 trillion laid out in the House version.

Among the other key differences between Obama’s bill and the Senate bill is the elimination of the Nebraska FMAP provision, which had the federal government footing the entire bill of an expansion of Medicaid in the state. Instead, the President’s plan calls for federal support to Medicaid expansion in all 50 states.

Obama’s bill also gets rid of the so-called “Stupak Amendment,” which would have forbidden insurance providers from offering abortion coverage to anyone paying for their policy with a government subsidy.

On the lower end of the income spectrum, a family earning $22,050/year would pay $441 in premiums, while a family earning $33,100 would have to pay up to $1,324 each year. These are both slight increases over the House plan.

In terms of cost for middle-class Americans, a family earning about $88,000 a year would pay no more than 9.5 percent of income (around $8,380) toward annual health insurance premiums. This does not include out-of-pocket costs like copays and deductibles. This figure is lower than both the Senate and House proposals ($8,643 and $10,584, respectively).

The White House plan was released as a prelude to this Thursday’s bipartisan health care summit, where the President will attempt to revive the move toward a national health plan.

Obama Details Plan to Expand Health Care to Uninsured [NY Times]

The President’s Proposal puts American families and small business owners in control of their own health care. [Official White House Site]

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