Transcript for Obama's Blueprint for Change: Healthcare

My plan begins by covering every American.

If you already have health insurance

the only thing that will change for you under this plan

is the amount of money you will spend on premiums.

That will be less than what you are spending now.

But if you are one of the 45 million Americans

who don’t have health insurance,

you will have health insurance that’s available to you.

No one will be turned away

because of a preexisting condition or illness.

Everyone will be able to buy into a new health insurance plan

that’s similar to the one every federal employee,

from a postal worker in Iowa to a congressman in Washington,

currently has for themselves.

It will cover all essential medical services including:

preventive, maternity,

disease management, and mental health care,

and will also include high standards for quality and efficiency.

If you can’t afford this insurance,

you will receive a subsidy to pay for it.

If you change jobs,

your insurance will go with you.

If you need to see a doctor,

you will not have to wait in long lines for one.

If you want more choices,

you will also have the option of purchasing

a number of affordable private plans

that have similar benefits and standards for quality and efficiency.

And my plan also provides substantial help

to small businesses to cover their employees...

Small businesses are America’s biggest job creator.

Since 1990, companies with fewer than 20 employees

have created 80 percent of new jobs in America.

But today too many small businesses are sinking

under the weight of rising health care costs.

My health care plan won’t impose

a single new burden on small businesses.

Instead it will give them tax credits

that will cover up to 50 percent

of the cost of ensuring their employees.

This will help them create not just new jobs,

but good jobs, jobs with health care

that stay right here in the United States of America.

We will take on the big drug companies

and insurance companies

who have been blocking reform for so long,

and provide affordable, quality health care for all.

We’ll cut costs for small businesses and their workers

by picking up part of the tab for some of the most expensive illnesses

and allow small businesses to purchase insurance in a new low-risk pool.

And we’ll cut the cost of the typical family’s health care

by up to $2,500 per year by investing in prevention,

and stopping diseases before they get so bad

that they are expensive to treat,

by investing in a paperless system to cut administrative costs.

That’s the commitment I am making to you, the American people,

and that’s the plan I’ll sign into law

by the end of my first term as president

of the United States of America.