health insurance plans

the president:here are the detailsthat every american needs to know about this plan. first, if you are among thehundreds of millions of americans who alreadyhave health insurance, nothing in this plan willrequire you or your employer to change the coverage orthe doctor you have. under this plan, it will beagainst the law for insurance companies to deny youcoverage because of a preexisting condition.

as soon as i sign this bill,it will be against the law for insurance companies to drop yourcoverage when you get sick or water it down whenyou need it the most. they will no longer be able toplace some arbitrary cap on the amount of coverage youcan receive in a given year or in a lifetime. we will place a limit on howmuch you can be charged for out-of-pocket expenses, becausein the united states of america, no one should go brokebecause they get sick.

and insurance companieswill be required to cover, with no extra charge, routinecheckups and preventive care, like mammograms andcolonoscopies -- (applause) -- because there's no reason weshouldn't be catching diseases like breast cancer and coloncancer before they get worse. if you lose your jobor you change your job, you'll be able to get coverage. if you strike out on your ownand start a small business,

we'll do this by creating anew insurance exchange -- a marketplace where individualsand small businesses will be able to shop for healthinsurance at competitive prices. now, for those individuals andsmall businesses who still can't afford the lower-pricedinsurance available in the exchange, we'llprovide tax credits, the size of which willbe based on your need. for those americans who can'tget insurance today because they have preexistingmedical conditions,

we will immediately offerlow-cost coverage that will protect you againstfinancial ruin if you become seriously ill. this was a good idea whensenator john mccain proposed it in the campaign,it's a good idea now, and we should all embrace it. but an additional step we cantake to keep insurance companies honest is by making anot-for-profit public option available in theinsurance exchange.

let me be clear. it would only be an option forthose who don't have insurance. no one would be forced to chooseit and would also keep pressure on private insurers to keeptheir policies affordable and treat their customers better iwill not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits --either now or in the future. we've estimated that most ofthis plan can be paid for by finding savings within theexisting health care system, a system that is currentlyfull of waste and abuse.

the only thing this plan wouldeliminate is the hundreds of billions of dollarsin waste and fraud, as well as unwarrantedsubsidies in medicare that go to insurance companies. and we will also create anindependent commission of doctors and medical expertscharged with identifying more waste in the years ahead. these steps will ensure that you-- america's seniors -- get the benefits you've been promised.

and we can use some of thesavings to fill the gap in coverage that forces too manyseniors to pay thousands of dollars a year out of their ownpockets for prescription drugs. many in this chamber --particularly on the republican side of the aisle -- have longinsisted that reforming our medical malpractice lawscan help bring down the cost of health care. i know that the bushadministration considered authorizing demonstrationprojects in individual states to

test these ideas. i think it's a good idea, andi'm directing my secretary of health and human servicesto move forward on this initiative today. the time for bickering is over. the time for games has passed. now is the season for action. now is when we must bring thebest ideas of both parties together, and show the americanpeople that we can still do what

we were sent here to do. now is the time todeliver on health care.