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Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Hear about Health Care Reform from the Horse's mouth (i.e. the president)

I sincerely apologize to all two of you who read this and have been waiting with bated breath for my latest blog post about health care reform and the historic legislation that was passed yesterday.

The funny thing is....this form of legislation is not unique to the world. If you know me at all you know that I'm passionate about universal health care and have cited many countries that have it besides the U.S. Some examples include, but are not limited to:

  • EVERY single developed nation outside the U.S. (like England, Germany, New Zealand, Australia, France, Spain, Sweden, Canada, the list goes on and on my friend)
  • Other countries that you wouldn't expect have it, including: Brazil, Mexico, Thailand, Uruguay, and yes even China!!!!!!!
So, unfortunately this next part is for Americans only because most of the rest of the world already knows what universal health care is and all that jazz.

Many want to believe that this simple, bare bones health care reform will transform the country into an evil communist, baby eating nation, while other just don't really know what health care is because they never had it before.

Well, Mr. Obama took some time out of his busy day to personally write me a note detailing what Americans will get with this new health care reform. I'm not totally lying when I say he addressed the letter to me, I've just decided to ignore the 100 million other people he addressed it to. Plus, it says my name at the top, beat that (insert sarcasm here).

So, don't be scared just read this and you will find out how you will benefit from health care reform:

I'm writing to you on a great day for America.

This morning, I gathered with members of Congress, my administration, and hardworking volunteers from every part of the country to sign comprehensive health care reform into law. Thanks to the immeasurable efforts of so many, the dream of reform is now a reality.

The bill I just signed puts Americans in charge of our own health care by enacting three key changes:

It establishes the toughest patient protections in history.

It guarantees all Americans affordable health insurance options, extending coverage to 32 million who are currently uninsured.

And it reduces the cost of care -- cutting over 1 trillion dollars from the federal deficit over the next two decades.

To ensure a successful, stable transition, many of these changes will phase into full effect over the next several years.

But for millions of Americans, many of the benefits of reform will begin this year -- some even taking effect this afternoon. Here are just a few examples:

Small businesses will receive significant tax cuts, this year, to help them afford health coverage for all their employees.

Seniors will receive a rebate to reduce drug costs not yet covered under Medicare.

Young people will be allowed coverage under their parents' plan until the age of 26.

Early retirees will receive help to reduce premium costs.

Children will be protected against discrimination on the basis of medical history.

Uninsured Americans with pre-existing conditions can join a special high-risk pool to get the coverage they need, starting in just 90 days.

Insured Americans will be protected from seeing their insurance revoked when they get sick, or facing restrictive annual limits on the care they receive.

All Americans will benefit from significant new investments to train primary care doctors, nurses, and public health professionals, and the creation of state-level consumer assistance programs to help all patients understand and defend our new rights.

As I've said many times, and as I know to be true, this astounding victory could not have been achieved without your tireless efforts.

So as we celebrate this great day, I want to invite you to add your name where it belongs: alongside mine as a co-signer of this historic legislation. Organizing for America will record the names of co-signers as a permanent commemoration of those who came together to make this moment possible -- all of you who refused to give up until the dream of many generations for affordable, quality care for all Americans was finally fulfilled.


Love always, Baraky Obama-rama
(okay, I added that last part in, hehe).

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