First Lady Michelle Obama said in an e-mail to supporters Sunday that President Obama’s health care law passed this year makes her life easier and gave a detailed sales pitch for how many free services will now be offered to many Americans.
“For moms like me, it makes our lives easier,” Obama said in the e-mail, which was distributed to the millions of Obama supporters who receive communications from Organizing for America, the group that grew out of the president’s 2008 campaign and is now housed under the Democratic National Committee.
Michelle Obama said that the website set up by the government, healthcare.gov, can help Americans find out what kind of insurance plans are available to them.
The first lady also laid out one of the most detailed itemized lists of benefits from the health care bill to date, previewing a talking point that will undoubtedly feature prominently in many Democratic campaigns this fall leading up to the November midterm elections.
“Under this new law, all new private plans will provide basic preventive services — things like childhood immunizations and checkups, mammograms, colonoscopies, cervical screenings, and treatment for high blood pressure — absolutely free of charge. No copay. No deductible. No co-insurance needed,” she wrote.
An Obama administration official said these benefits apply to new health plans that begin on or after Sept. 23.
Michelle Obama was again promoting the health care bill on Monday, appearing in a video on the White House website with second lady Jill Biden, wife to Vice President Joe Biden.
Republicans contacted by The Daily Caller were unwilling to respond directly, wishing to avoid a political confrontation with the first lady. But they have said that while providing such services are a good thing in and of themselves, they are not ultimately free because insurance companies will pass on the cost of covering these procedures by raising rates.
Here is the full e-mail from the first lady:
When you hear about the new health reform law these days, too much talk is focused on the political.
What I’ve found is that most Americans just want to know how this new law helps their families stay healthy — and how it reduces their costs.
The first thing I tell people who ask about the Affordable Care Act is that, for moms like me, it makes our lives easier. It gives families control over their own care. And it gives us the comfort of knowing that our insurance will be there when we need it most — especially if we get sick. Then I tell them that it gets better, but there’s a lot to know. To help, this administration has set up HealthCare.gov, where folks can see customized information about how care will improve for their families.
So much of what makes this law great is its emphasis on preventive care — right now, too many people aren’t getting the check-ups or the screenings they need to stay healthy. Twelve percent of kids haven’t seen a doctor in the past year. And 59 million adults — and 11 million children — depend on an insurance plan that does not cover basic immunizations.
Health reform is changing that. Under this new law, all new private plans will provide basic preventive services — things like childhood immunizations and checkups, mammograms, colonoscopies, cervical screenings, and treatment for high blood pressure — absolutely free of charge. No copay. No deductible. No co-insurance needed.
And, on HealthCare.gov, you can not only learn what preventive steps will help keep your family healthy, but also what insurance coverage options are available based on your needs.A focus on prevention will help us to combat diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure — chronic illnesses that right now lead to seven of ten deaths in the United States and 75 percent of our national health care costs.
And it will help us tackle an issue that is dear to my heart — childhood obesity. As some of you know one of my top priorities as First Lady is the Let’s Move! campaign, where we have made it our goal to put a stop to the challenge of childhood obesity within a generation, so children who are born today grow up at a healthy weight.
Each of us needs to take responsibility for our own health and the health of our families, and the new health reform law can help. That’s why I’m writing today — to make sure you and Americans across the country know how their health plans are getting better day by day under reform.
Please visit HealthCare.gov and find out more about your care:
www.healthcare.gov
Thank you,
Michelle Obama
Paid for by Organizing for America, a project of the Democratic National Committee — 430 South Capitol Street SE, Washington, D.C. 20003. This communication is not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.