Barack Obama photo

Obama Campaign Press Release - Obama Unveils Texas TV Ad Highlighting His Cost-Cutting Universal Health Care Plan

February 11, 2008

Austin, TX - Senator Barack Obama's presidential campaign today kicked off his television advertising campaign in Texas with an ad featuring his universal health care plan that does more to cut costs for the average American family than any other plan.

The ad titled "Mother" will begin airing on English language broadcast outlets throughout Texas on Tuesday. The details of Obama campaign's Spanish-language advertising campaign will be announced later this week.

"For 20 years, Washington has talked about health care reform and reformed nothing," Obama says in the ad. "I've got a plan to cut costs and cover everyone. But unless we stop the bickering and the lobbyists we will be in the same place twenty years from now."

In the ad, Obama talks about his mother who died of cancer at the age of 53 and was worried about paying her medical bill even as her health worsened. He also underscores his commitment to standing up to the lobbyists and special interests that have blocked health care reform in DC and signing universal health care legislation by the end of his first term as president.

Today's announcement signals that Obama is shifting his attention to competing in Texas' March 4th primary after five resounding victories in Louisiana, Washington, Nebraska, Virgin Islands and Maine over the weekend. Obama's tripled his lead in the pledged delegate count from 27 to 84 and now leads Senator Clinton in the overall number of pledged delegates 1030 to 946. Obama's universal health care plan will make available a new national health plan to individuals without access to affordable insurance coverage. The plan focuses on the following key parts:

- Offering a new public health plan that will give individuals the choice to buy affordable health coverage that is similar to the plan available to federal employees. The new public plan will be open to individuals without access to group coverage through their workplace or current public programs.

- Establishing a National Health Insurance Exchange to help individuals who wish to purchase an insurance plan for themselves. The Exchange will act as a watchdog group and help reform the private insurance market by creating rules and standards for participating insurance plans to ensure fairness and to make individual coverage more affordable and accessible.

- Requiring all employers to make a meaningful contribution towards health coverage for their employees.

- Mandating all children have health care coverage and expanding the number of options for young adults up to age 25 to continue coverage through their parent's plans.

- Expanding eligibility for the Medicaid and SCHIP programs and ensure that these programs continue to serve their critical safety net function.

Script of the ad "Mother"



My mother died of cancer at 53. In those last painful months, she was more worried about paying her medical bills than getting well. I hear stories like hers everyday.

For 20 years Washington has talked about health care reform and reformed nothing. I've got a plan to cut costs and cover everyone. But unless we stop the bickering and the lobbyists we will be in the same place twenty years from now.

I'm Barack Obama and I approve this message because to fix health care we have to fix Washington.

Barack Obama, Obama Campaign Press Release - Obama Unveils Texas TV Ad Highlighting His Cost-Cutting Universal Health Care Plan Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/292241

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