Obama says he won?t Back Down on Public Plan as Choice for Affordable Health Care Coverage

President Obama took to the airwaves Wednesday night to detail his plan for health care reform and denounce claims that his plan is a government takeover of the health care system.

During a near-hour long speech before Congress, Obama told lawmakers and the American public that his plan provides more security for people who have coverage, more affordable coverage for people who don’t, and slows the growth of health care costs in future years.

Hoping to show how his plan will benefit consumers, Obama said no one with health care coverage will be required to change their coverage or doctor, and insurers will no longer be allowed to terminate or deny coverage to policy holders who become sick or have pre-existing conditions.  Obama said his plan also limits out of pocket expenses, while eliminating insurer caps on annual and lifetime coverage.

For people and small business owners without insurance, Obama said his plan includes a health care exchange and tax credits that will help pay for coverage based on their need.  Obama said the exchange, which would include plans offered by private insurers, wouldn’t become available for four years. However, for those people who can’t get coverage now, the government would immediately offer low-cost coverage to protect against financial ruin if you become seriously ill, a proposal Obama said was offered by Senator John McCain during his presidential campaign.

The speech came a few hours after Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus announced that he intends to unveil a bill from his committee next week and move ahead with the legislative process with or without Republican support. The Senate Finance Committee is the last of five congressional panels needed to approve health care legislation before the full house and senate can work towards a final bill.

The Senate Finance Committee plan is said to include provisions that sidestep requirements currently in other bills, and that Obama mentioned in his speech, that companies would be forced to offer coverage to their employees or pay a penalty of up to 8 percent of their payroll to fund a public plan.

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According to the Washington Post, the Senate Finance plan would require firms with more than 50 full-time employees to pay if they hire people who are eligible for government subsidies. In the case of the Senate Finance Committee, that includes people who earn between 133 percent of the federal poverty level and 400 percent of the poverty level, or about $88,000 a year for a family of four.

Obama said he wants to see a public plan included in the health care exchange to keep private plans affordable. But he said the public plan would only be an option for people who don’t have insurance.

“No one would be forced to choose it and it would not impact those of you who already have insurance. In fact, based on Congressional Budget Office estimates, we believe that less than five percent of Americans would sign up,” he said.