English subtitles for clip: File:2009-08-22 President Obama's Weekly Address.ogv
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1 00:00:12,828 --> 00:00:14,561 The President: Each and every day in this country, 2 00:00:14,561 --> 00:00:17,394 Americans are grappling with health care premiums that are 3 00:00:17,394 --> 00:00:20,461 growing three times the rate of wages and insurance company 4 00:00:20,461 --> 00:00:24,561 policies that limit coverage and raise out-of-pocket costs. 5 00:00:24,561 --> 00:00:28,294 Thousands are losing their insurance coverage each day. 6 00:00:28,294 --> 00:00:31,861 Without real reform, the burdens on America's families and 7 00:00:31,861 --> 00:00:34,628 businesses will continue to multiply. 8 00:00:34,628 --> 00:00:37,394 We've had a vigorous debate about health insurance reform, 9 00:00:37,394 --> 00:00:39,161 and rightly so. 10 00:00:39,161 --> 00:00:41,961 This is an issue of vital concern to every American, 11 00:00:41,961 --> 00:00:44,494 and I'm glad that so many are engaged. 12 00:00:44,494 --> 00:00:47,194 But it also should be an honest debate, 13 00:00:47,194 --> 00:00:50,795 not one dominated by willful misrepresentations and outright 14 00:00:50,795 --> 00:00:54,728 distortions, spread by the very folks who would benefit the most 15 00:00:54,728 --> 00:00:57,895 by keeping things exactly as they are. 16 00:00:57,895 --> 00:01:00,994 So today, I want to spend a few minutes debunking some of the 17 00:01:00,994 --> 00:01:04,161 more outrageous myths circulating on the internet, 18 00:01:04,161 --> 00:01:09,094 on cable TV, and repeated at some town halls across this country. 19 00:01:09,094 --> 00:01:12,261 Let's start with the false claim that illegal immigrants will get 20 00:01:12,261 --> 00:01:14,226 health insurance under reform. 21 00:01:14,227 --> 00:01:15,795 That's not true. 22 00:01:15,795 --> 00:01:18,094 Illegal immigrants would not be covered. 23 00:01:18,094 --> 00:01:21,860 That idea has never even been on the table. 24 00:01:21,861 --> 00:01:24,227 Some are also saying that coverage for abortions would be 25 00:01:24,227 --> 00:01:26,161 mandated under reform. 26 00:01:26,161 --> 00:01:27,695 Also false. 27 00:01:27,695 --> 00:01:30,327 When it comes to the current ban on using tax dollars for 28 00:01:30,328 --> 00:01:34,261 abortions, nothing will change under reform. 29 00:01:34,261 --> 00:01:38,061 And as every credible person who has looked into it has said, 30 00:01:38,061 --> 00:01:40,795 there are no so-called "death panels" -- 31 00:01:40,795 --> 00:01:43,895 an offensive notion to me and to the American people. 32 00:01:43,895 --> 00:01:46,661 These are phony claims meant to divide us. 33 00:01:46,661 --> 00:01:50,261 And we've all heard the charge that reform will somehow bring 34 00:01:50,261 --> 00:01:52,928 about a government takeover of health care. 35 00:01:52,928 --> 00:01:54,861 I know that sounds scary to many folks. 36 00:01:54,861 --> 00:01:56,795 It sounds scary to me, too. 37 00:01:56,795 --> 00:01:59,795 But here's the thing: it's not true. 38 00:01:59,795 --> 00:02:03,294 I no sooner want government to get between you and your doctor 39 00:02:03,294 --> 00:02:06,294 than I want insurance companies to make arbitrary decisions 40 00:02:06,294 --> 00:02:10,627 about what medical care is best for you, as they do today. 41 00:02:10,627 --> 00:02:13,827 As I've said from the beginning, under the reform we seek, 42 00:02:13,828 --> 00:02:17,227 if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor. 43 00:02:17,227 --> 00:02:20,027 If you like your private health insurance plan, 44 00:02:20,027 --> 00:02:22,226 you can keep your plan. 45 00:02:22,227 --> 00:02:23,895 Period. 46 00:02:23,895 --> 00:02:26,061 Now, the source of a lot of these fears about government-run 47 00:02:26,061 --> 00:02:30,094 health care is confusion over what's called the public option. 48 00:02:30,094 --> 00:02:34,061 This is one idea among many to provide more competition and 49 00:02:34,061 --> 00:02:37,928 choice, especially in the many places around the country where 50 00:02:37,928 --> 00:02:41,761 just one insurer thoroughly dominates the marketplace. 51 00:02:41,761 --> 00:02:45,361 This alternative would have to operate as any other insurer, 52 00:02:45,361 --> 00:02:48,161 on the basis of the premiums it collects. 53 00:02:48,161 --> 00:02:51,394 And let me repeat -- it would just be an option; 54 00:02:51,394 --> 00:02:54,428 those who prefer their private insurers would be under 55 00:02:54,428 --> 00:02:57,328 no obligation to shift to a public plan. 56 00:02:57,328 --> 00:02:59,227 The insurance companies and their allies don't like this 57 00:02:59,227 --> 00:03:02,795 idea, or any that would promote greater competition. 58 00:03:02,795 --> 00:03:04,060 I get that. 59 00:03:04,061 --> 00:03:06,661 And I expect there would be a lot of discussion about it when 60 00:03:06,661 --> 00:03:08,628 Congress returns. 61 00:03:08,628 --> 00:03:11,361 But this one aspect of the health care debate shouldn't 62 00:03:11,361 --> 00:03:15,261 overshadow the other important steps we can and must take to 63 00:03:15,261 --> 00:03:19,494 reduce the increasing burdens families and businesses face. 64 00:03:19,494 --> 00:03:23,161 So let me stress them again: If you don't have insurance, 65 00:03:23,161 --> 00:03:27,261 you will finally have access to quality coverage you can afford. 66 00:03:27,261 --> 00:03:31,027 If you do have coverage, you will benefit from more security 67 00:03:31,027 --> 00:03:34,094 and more stability when it comes to your insurance. 68 00:03:34,094 --> 00:03:37,494 If you move, lose your job, or change jobs, 69 00:03:37,494 --> 00:03:40,761 you will not have to worry about losing health coverage. 70 00:03:40,761 --> 00:03:43,861 And we will set up tough consumer protections that will 71 00:03:43,861 --> 00:03:47,060 hold insurance companies accountable and stop them from 72 00:03:47,061 --> 00:03:50,361 exploiting you with unfair practices. 73 00:03:50,361 --> 00:03:52,695 We'll prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage 74 00:03:52,695 --> 00:03:55,126 because of a person's medical history. 75 00:03:55,127 --> 00:03:58,261 They will not be able to drop your coverage if you get sick. 76 00:03:58,261 --> 00:04:01,994 They will not be able to water down your coverage when you need it most. 77 00:04:01,994 --> 00:04:05,194 They will no longer be able to place some arbitrary cap on the 78 00:04:05,194 --> 00:04:10,126 amount of coverage you can receive in a given year or a lifetime. 79 00:04:10,127 --> 00:04:12,461 We'll place a limit on how much you can be charged for 80 00:04:12,461 --> 00:04:15,994 out-of-pocket expenses, because no one in America should go 81 00:04:15,994 --> 00:04:18,761 broke because they get sick. 82 00:04:18,761 --> 00:04:21,695 And we will require insurance companies to cover routine 83 00:04:21,695 --> 00:04:25,961 checkups and preventive care, like mammograms and colonoscopies. 84 00:04:25,961 --> 00:04:28,661 There's no reason we shouldn't be catching diseases like breast 85 00:04:28,661 --> 00:04:32,194 cancer and colon cancer on the front end. 86 00:04:32,194 --> 00:04:34,428 That makes sense, it saves lives, 87 00:04:34,428 --> 00:04:37,661 and it will also save money over the long-run. 88 00:04:37,661 --> 00:04:40,561 Taken together, the reforms we're seeking will help bring 89 00:04:40,561 --> 00:04:44,027 down skyrocketing costs, which will mean real savings for 90 00:04:44,027 --> 00:04:47,661 families, businesses, and government. 91 00:04:47,661 --> 00:04:51,461 We know what a failure to act would bring: More of the same. 92 00:04:51,461 --> 00:04:53,494 More of the same exploding costs. 93 00:04:53,494 --> 00:04:55,928 More of the same diminished coverage. 94 00:04:55,928 --> 00:04:59,094 If we fail to act, the crisis will grow. 95 00:04:59,094 --> 00:05:01,194 More families will go without coverage. 96 00:05:01,194 --> 00:05:05,328 More businesses will be forced to drop or water down their plans. 97 00:05:05,328 --> 00:05:08,161 So we can push off the day of reckoning and fail to deal with 98 00:05:08,161 --> 00:05:11,094 the flaws in the system, just as Washington has done, 99 00:05:11,094 --> 00:05:13,760 year after year, decade after decade. 100 00:05:13,761 --> 00:05:17,194 Or we can take steps that will provide every American family 101 00:05:17,194 --> 00:05:20,528 and business a measure of security and stability that they 102 00:05:20,528 --> 00:05:22,461 lack today. 103 00:05:22,461 --> 00:05:25,127 It's never been easy, moving this nation forward. 104 00:05:25,127 --> 00:05:27,227 There are always those who oppose it, 105 00:05:27,227 --> 00:05:29,828 and those who use fear to block change. 106 00:05:29,828 --> 00:05:32,361 But what has always distinguished America is that 107 00:05:32,361 --> 00:05:34,494 when all the arguments have been heard, 108 00:05:34,494 --> 00:05:36,494 and all the concerns have been voiced, 109 00:05:36,494 --> 00:05:39,361 and the time comes to do what must be done, 110 00:05:39,361 --> 00:05:43,194 we rise above our differences, grasp each others' hands, 111 00:05:43,194 --> 00:05:46,695 and march forward as one nation and one people, 112 00:05:46,695 --> 00:05:49,728 some of us Democrats, some of us Republicans, 113 00:05:49,728 --> 00:05:52,161 all of us Americans. 114 00:05:52,161 --> 00:05:54,361 This is our chance to march forward. 115 00:05:54,361 --> 00:05:57,661 I can't promise you that the reforms we seek will be perfect 116 00:05:57,661 --> 00:05:59,628 or make a difference overnight. 117 00:05:59,628 --> 00:06:03,428 But I can promise you this: if we pass health insurance reform, 118 00:06:03,428 --> 00:06:06,328 we will look back many years from now and say, 119 00:06:06,328 --> 00:06:10,227 this was the moment we summoned what's best in each of us to 120 00:06:10,227 --> 00:06:12,628 make life better for all of us. 121 00:06:12,628 --> 00:06:15,161 This was the moment when we built a health care system 122 00:06:15,161 --> 00:06:18,394 worthy of the nation and the people we love. 123 00:06:18,394 --> 00:06:22,428 This was the moment we earned our place alongside the greatest generations. 124 00:06:22,428 --> 00:06:27,261 And that is what our generation of Americans is called to do right now.