奥巴马演讲:The Patient's Bill of Rights and Heal
Weekly Address: The Patient’s Bill of Rights and Health Reform
The President looks back to the bipartisan Patient’s Bill of Rights, a bill that was defeated in Congress at the hands of special interests and their supporters, and notes that health insurance reform covers the same ground and much more in terms of giving the consumers the upper hand over their insurance companies. He calls on the Senate to allow an up-or-down vote, and for those opposing reform to stop using parliamentary maneuvers to drag it out.
Over the past few decades, there has been an intense struggle in Washington between the lobbyists for the insurance industry and the interests of the American people over what has been called a Patient’s Bill of Rights – a set of rules to protect Americans from some of the worst practices of the health insurance industry; rules to ensure that all Americans are getting the care they need from their doctors and the care they deserve from their insurance companies.
The last time a Patient’s Bill of Rights was within reach was roughly a decade ago, and it was supported by Democrats and Republicans alike, from Ted Kennedy to John McCain. It included the right to an appeals process so you could challenge an unfair decision by an insurance company before a third party. It included the right to choose your own doctor. It included the right to access information about what your health insurance plan means for you. And it called for a new level of transparency so that patients would know if their doctors had a conflict of interest when providing services.
Now, this Patient’s Bill of Rights never made it into law. It fell victim – again and again – to the same special interest lobbying that has blocked passage of health insurance reform for so many decades. But today, we are being given another chance to make it a reality, because each of these rights, and many more, are incorporated in the health insurance reform bill that recently passed the House of Representatives and in the bill that is currently making its way through the Senate.
Both the House and Senate bills would make it against the law for insurance companies to deny you coverage on the basis of a pre-existing condition or illness. Both would stop insurers from charging exorbitant premiums on the basis of age, health, or gender. Both would prevent insurance companies from dropping your coverage when you get sick. And both would put a limit on how much you have to pay out of pocket for the treatments you need in a year or lifetime.
Simply put, the protections currently included in both the health insurance reform bill passed by the House and the version currently on the Senate floor would represent the toughest measures we’ve ever taken to hold the insurance industry accountable. Anyone who says otherwise simply hasn’t read the bills. Just open these proposals at random and you’ll find on almost any page patient protections that dwarf any of those passed by Congress in at least a decade.
These protections are just one part of a landmark reform that will finally reduce the cost of health care. When it becomes law, families will save on their premiums. Small businesses and Americans who don’t get any insurance today through their employers will no longer be forced to pay punishingly high rates to get coverage. This legislation will also strengthen Medicare and extend the life of the program, while saving senior citizens hundreds of dollars a year in prescription costs. And reforms to target waste, inefficiency, and price-gouging by the insurance industry will help make this the largest deficit reduction plan in over a decade.
The insurance industry knows all this. That’s why they’re at it again, using their muscle in Washington to try to block a vote they know they will lose. They’re lobbying. They’re running ads. They’re spending millions of dollars to kill health insurance reform, just like they’ve done so many times before. They want to preserve a system that works better for the insurance industry than it does for the American people.
But now – for the first time – there is a clear majority in the Senate that’s willing to stand up to the insurance lobby and embrace lasting health insurance reforms that have eluded us for generations. The question is whether the minority that opposes these reforms will continue to use parliamentary maneuvers to try and stop the Senate from voting on them.
Whatever their position on health insurance reform, Senators ought to allow an up or down vote. Let’s bring this long and vigorous debate to an end. Let’s deliver on the promise of health insurance reforms that will make our people healthier, our economy stronger, and our future more secure. And as this difficult year comes to a close, let’s show the American people that we are equal to the task of meeting our great challenges.
Thanks for listening, and on behalf of Michelle, Malia, Sasha, and Bo, happy holidays, from our family to yours.
重点单词查看全部解释exorbitant[ig’zɔ:bitənt]
想一想再看
adj. (价格等)过高的，不合法的
联想记忆
X
单词exorbitant联想记忆：
ex出，orbit（n 轨道；生活常规）－走出常规－过分的
transparency[træns’pærənsi]
想一想再看
n. 透明度，幻灯片
vigorous[‘vigərəs]
想一想再看
adj. 精力充沛的，元气旺盛的，有力的
reduction[ri’dʌkʃən]
想一想再看
n. 减少，缩小，(化学)还原反应，(数学)约分
secure[si’kjuə]
想一想再看
adj. 安全的，牢靠的，稳妥的
vt. 固定
联想记忆
X
单词secure联想记忆：
sc分开+cure→不关心，不担忧→安全的
deserve[di’zə:v]
想一想再看
vi. 应该得到
vt. 应受，值得
联想记忆
X
单词deserve联想记忆：
de加强+serve服务→加强服务→值得[重视],应受
majority[mə’dʒɔriti]
想一想再看
n. 多数，大多数，多数党，多数派
n.
reform[ri’fɔ:m]
想一想再看
v. 改革，改造，革新
n. 改革，改良
联想记忆
X
单词reform联想记忆：
re再次+form形状→再形成→改革，改造
address[ə’dres]
想一想再看
n. 住址，致词，讲话，谈吐，(处理问题的)技巧
prescription[pris’kripʃən]
想一想再看
n. 药方，对策，开处方
联想记忆
X
单词prescription联想记忆：
源于：prescribe（v 指示；开处方），pre前，scribe（v 描述）
NSDA“SDcamps”全国英语演讲与辩论大赛（大学组）/SDcamps全国中小学生英语演讲与辩论大会（中小学及幼儿组）/美式辩论赛（以下简称大赛/大会）现诚招全国省市合作伙伴或城市合伙人，共同进行推广NSDA赛事品牌、举办赛事及培训活动、开展素质教育、美式营地项目等多方面合作。
我们希望认同NSDA理念，有赛事组织经验，或有教育资源，特别是有理想有热情的机构或个人一起携手，共同推广NSDA品牌、赛事及素质教育。以机构的形式，或以城市合伙人的方式均可。具体的赛事组织、盈利模式，欢迎电话或微信咨询。
微信：0012133598196
