English subtitles for clip: File:2009-08-22 President Obama's Weekly Address.ogv

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The President:
Each and every day
in this country,

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Americans are grappling with
health care premiums that are

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growing three times the rate
of wages and insurance company

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policies that limit coverage
and raise out-of-pocket costs.

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Thousands are losing their
insurance coverage each day.

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Without real reform, the burdens
on America's families and

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businesses will
continue to multiply.

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We've had a vigorous debate
about health insurance reform,

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and rightly so.

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This is an issue of vital
concern to every American,

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and I'm glad that
so many are engaged.

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But it also should
be an honest debate,

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not one dominated by willful
misrepresentations and outright

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distortions, spread by the very
folks who would benefit the most

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by keeping things
exactly as they are.

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So today, I want to spend a few
minutes debunking some of the

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more outrageous myths
circulating on the internet,

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on cable TV, and repeated at some
town halls across this country.

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Let's start with the false claim
that illegal immigrants will get

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health insurance under reform.

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That's not true.

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Illegal immigrants
would not be covered.

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That idea has never
even been on the table.

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Some are also saying that
coverage for abortions would be

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mandated under reform.

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Also false.

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When it comes to the current
ban on using tax dollars for

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abortions, nothing will
change under reform.

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And as every credible person
who has looked into it has said,

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there are no so-called
"death panels" --

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an offensive notion to me
and to the American people.

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These are phony claims
meant to divide us.

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And we've all heard the charge
that reform will somehow bring

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about a government
takeover of health care.

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I know that sounds
scary to many folks.

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It sounds scary to me, too.

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But here's the
thing: it's not true.

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I no sooner want government to
get between you and your doctor

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than I want insurance companies
to make arbitrary decisions

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about what medical care is
best for you, as they do today.

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As I've said from the beginning,
under the reform we seek,

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if you like your doctor,
you can keep your doctor.

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If you like your private
health insurance plan,

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you can keep your plan.

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Period.

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Now, the source of a lot of
these fears about government-run

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health care is confusion over
what's called the public option.

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This is one idea among many to
provide more competition and

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choice, especially in the many
places around the country where

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just one insurer thoroughly
dominates the marketplace.

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This alternative would have to
operate as any other insurer,

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on the basis of the
premiums it collects.

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And let me repeat -- it
would just be an option;

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those who prefer their private
insurers would be under

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no obligation to shift
to a public plan.

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The insurance companies and
their allies don't like this

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idea, or any that would
promote greater competition.

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I get that.

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And I expect there would be a
lot of discussion about it when

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Congress returns.

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But this one aspect of the
health care debate shouldn't

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overshadow the other important
steps we can and must take to

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reduce the increasing burdens
families and businesses face.

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So let me stress them again:
If you don't have insurance,

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you will finally have access to
quality coverage you can afford.

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If you do have coverage, you
will benefit from more security

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and more stability when it
comes to your insurance.

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If you move, lose your
job, or change jobs,

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you will not have to worry
about losing health coverage.

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And we will set up tough
consumer protections that will

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hold insurance companies
accountable and stop them from

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exploiting you with
unfair practices.

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We'll prohibit insurance
companies from denying coverage

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because of a person's
medical history.

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They will not be able to drop
your coverage if you get sick.

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They will not be able to water
down your coverage when you need it most.

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They will no longer be able to
place some arbitrary cap on the

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amount of coverage you can receive
in a given year or a lifetime.

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We'll place a limit on how
much you can be charged for

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out-of-pocket expenses, because
no one in America should go

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broke because they get sick.

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And we will require insurance
companies to cover routine

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checkups and preventive care,
like mammograms and colonoscopies.

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There's no reason we shouldn't
be catching diseases like breast

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cancer and colon cancer
on the front end.

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That makes sense,
it saves lives,

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and it will also save
money over the long-run.

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Taken together, the reforms
we're seeking will help bring

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down skyrocketing costs, which
will mean real savings for

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families, businesses,
and government.

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We know what a failure to act
would bring: More of the same.

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More of the same
exploding costs.

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More of the same
diminished coverage.

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If we fail to act,
the crisis will grow.

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More families will
go without coverage.

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More businesses will be forced
to drop or water down their plans.

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So we can push off the day of
reckoning and fail to deal with

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the flaws in the system,
just as Washington has done,

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year after year,
decade after decade.

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Or we can take steps that will
provide every American family

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and business a measure of
security and stability that they

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lack today.

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It's never been easy,
moving this nation forward.

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There are always
those who oppose it,

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and those who use
fear to block change.

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But what has always
distinguished America is that

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when all the arguments
have been heard,

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and all the concerns
have been voiced,

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and the time comes to
do what must be done,

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we rise above our differences,
grasp each others' hands,

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and march forward as one
nation and one people,

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some of us Democrats,
some of us Republicans,

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all of us Americans.

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This is our chance
to march forward.

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I can't promise you that the
reforms we seek will be perfect

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or make a difference overnight.

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But I can promise you this: if
we pass health insurance reform,

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we will look back many
years from now and say,

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this was the moment we summoned
what's best in each of us to

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make life better for all of us.

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This was the moment when we
built a health care system

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worthy of the nation
and the people we love.

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This was the moment we earned our place
alongside the greatest generations.

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And that is what our generation
of Americans is called to do right now.