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Transcript/Script
US – HEALTH CARE (TV)
HEADLINE: Biden Fixes Glitch to Expand Health Care Access
TEASER: US is still the only industrialized nation that does not provide health care for all its citizens
PUBLISHED AT: 4/5/2022, 9:24 pm
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: White House
VIDEOGRAPHER:
PRODUCER:
SCRIPT EDITORS: reifenrath, Holly Franko, DJones
VIDEO SOURCE (S): AP, AFP, Skype
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _x_ RADIO __
TRT: 2:35
VID APPROVED BY: Holly Franko
TYPE: TV
EDITOR NOTES: Radio track included. There is an accompanying web already published.
((INTRO:))
[[U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced plans to expand access to health care by proposing changes to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to allow millions of additional American families to purchase health insurance plans and obtain tax credits to offset the cost. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has this report.]]
((NARRATOR))
The United States is the only industrialized nation that does not provide health care for all its citizens. About 8.6 percent of Americans, or 28 million people, did not have health insurance at any point during the year 2020, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
((NARRATOR))
President Joe Biden wants to reduce that number.
((President Joe Biden))
“Once today's proposed rule is finalized, starting next year, working families in America will get the help they need to afford full family coverage. Everyone in the family.”
((NARRATOR))
Biden announced his proposal Tuesday at the White House with former President Barack Obama,
((NARRATOR))
who signed the Affordable Care Act, a sweeping health care law known as Obamacare, in March 2010. This is Obama’s first return visit to the White House since he left office in 2017 …
UPSOUND: “Joe Biden and I did a lot together.”
((NARRATOR))
… after two terms with Biden as his vice president.
((Barack Obama, Former President))
“But nothing made me prouder than providing better health care and more protections to millions of people across this country.”
((NARRATOR))
Biden’s proposed changes to the ACA will fix the so-called family glitch. Based on current regulations, an employee's family members who purchase health coverage through the employer are ineligible for a premium tax credit, even though they need it to afford coverage. The glitch affects about 5 million people, according to the White House.
((NARRATOR))
Republican Representative Kevin Brady, the House Ways and Means Committee leader, criticized the move and accused Biden of misusing executive orders.
((NARRATOR))
The country’s health care is a public-private system, with about 65 percent of Americans covered by private health insurance and the rest relying on public coverage, including Medicare and Medicaid.
((Radio track: Bill Hoagland, senior vice president at the Bipartisan Policy Center, via Skype))
((Bill Hoagland, Bipartisan Policy Center)) ((Skype courtesy))
“This is a country that is very much oriented toward the private sector, the employer, and the employer providing benefits that creates this discontinuity, if you like, between us not having health care that's universal for everyone.”
((NARRATOR))
About 55 percent of Americans support the ACA, according to a recent poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
((NARRATOR))
During the Trump administration, Republicans in Congress tried repeatedly to repeal the law but failed.
((NARRATOR))
Since Biden took office, enrollment and coverage through the ACA has been at a peak. The law significantly cut the number of uninsured, which once stood at 46.5 million.
Patsy Widakuswara, VOA News at the White House.
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)
THE White House
Embargo DateApril 5, 2022 21:55 EDT
Byline
Patsy Widakuswara, VOA News at the White House.
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
