WHITEHOUSE NEWS3

Good afternoon,

$1,115 -- that's the average monthly premium for employer-sponsored family coverage in 2009.  Annually, that amounts to $13,375, or roughly the yearly income of someone working a minimum wage job.¹

It gets worse: a recent survey found that if we do nothing, over the next ten years, out-of-pocket expenses for Americans with health insurance could increase 35 percent in every state in the country.²

In an effort to put the past year's debate over health insurance reform into perspective, we're launching "Health Reform by the Numbers," an online campaign using key figures, like $1,115, to raise awareness about why we can't wait any longer for reform.  We'll be sending out a new number every day.  Learn what you can do to help spread the word:

$1,115 is more money than what many Americans pay for rent or mortgage. But there's more to the problem than just numbers.

Take Leslie Banks, an American mom with a daughter in college.  In January of this year, she received a notice from her health insurance provider that her plan was being dropped. To keep the same benefits, the premiums for her and her daughter would more than double.  Leslie was told by the insurance company that there was nothing she could do -- it was an across-the-board premium hike.  If she paid the same monthly premium amount as before, the deductible would increase from $500 to $5,000, and she and her daughter would no longer have preventive care or prescription coverage.

Yesterday, Leslie introduced President Obama at a health reform event in Pennsylvania.  Check out what they had to say.

It's important to raise awareness about numbers like $1,115 and stories like Leslie’s because skyrocketing health care costs impact all of us.  So take a moment to forward this email to your family, friends and online networks.

With all of us working together, we'll send the message loud and clear -- the time is now for health insurance reform.  It's time we made our health care system work for American families and small businesses, not just insurance companies.

Let's get it done.

Nancy-Ann DeParle
Director, White House Office of Health Reform

^{1 Kaiser Family Foundation, Employer Health Benefits 2009 Annual Survey.
2 Bowen Garrett, John Holahan, Lan Doan, and Irene Headen for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Urban Institute, The Cost of Failure to Enact Health Reform: Implications for States}

Good afternoon,

8 -- that's the number of people every minute who are denied coverage, charged a higher rate or otherwise discriminated against because of a pre-existing condition.¹

8 is also the number of lobbyists hired by special interests to influence health reform for every member of Congress in 2009.²

The facts speak for themselves -- the status quo isn't working, and special interests are doing everything in their power to maintain that status quo.

Being denied coverage because of a pre-existing condition is something we all know is wrong. And for those 8 people every minute who can't find health coverage or face discrimination because of a pre-existing condition, reform can't wait.

Statistics like these help put the past year's debate over health insurance reform into perspective, demonstrating how broken our health insurance system has become. Each day this week, we'll promote a key number on WhiteHouse.gov and social networks like Facebook and Twitter to raise awareness about why the time is now for health insurance reform.

You can help spread the word about the need for health insurance reform by forwarding this email to your family, friends and online networks.

Let's get it done.

Nancy-Ann DeParle
Director, White House Office of Health Reform

^{1HealthReform.gov, Coverage Denied: How the Current Health Insurance System Leaves Millions Behind
2The Center for Public Integrity, Lobbyists Swarm Capitol To Influence Health Reform}

Good morning,

625 -- that's the number of people who lost their health insurance every hour in 2009.¹

A statistic like that tells a frightening story -- losing insurance can happen to anyone.  How many more Americans have to lose their health insurance and how many more businesses have to drop coverage before we fix our broken health care system?

We've been debating what to do about our broken health care system for decades -- not just this past year.  Every idea has been put on the table. Every argument has been made.  Everything there is to say about health reform has been said. It's time to decide how to reform our health care system to give American families and businesses the security and stability they deserve.

As the President has said, "In the United States of America, no one should have to worry that they'll go without insurance -- not for one year, not for one month, not for one day."

The millions of Americans who lost their insurance last year can't wait any longer.  The time is now for health insurance reform.

625 is the latest digit in 'Health Reform by the Numbers,' an online campaign to spread the word about the need for health insurance reform.  You can help raise awareness by sharing this email with your friends, family and online networks.

Let's get it done.

Nancy-Ann DeParle
Director, White House Office of Health Reform

^{1The Wonk Room, ThinkProgress.org, UPDATE: 15,000 People Lost Health Insurance Per Day In 2009}

Good morning,

41 -- that's the number of leading economists -- including three Nobel Prize winners -- who sent a letter to President Obama and Congress yesterday urging the swift passage of comprehensive health insurance reform to curb skyrocketing health care costs.¹

41 -- is also the percentage of adults under the age of 65 who accumulated medical debt, had difficulty paying medical bills, or struggled with both during a recent one-year period.²

No ifs, ands or buts about it -- if we do nothing to reform our broken health care system, costs will continue to skyrocket and break the budgets of American families, small businesses and the Federal Government.

If we pass comprehensive health insurance reform, we can reverse this trend and control rising costs.  According to some of our nation's leading economists, "the health care reforms passed by the House and Senate -- with recent modifications proposed by President Obama -- include serious measures that will slow the growth of health care spending."

The facts above paint a very clear picture -- the United States cannot wait any longer for health insurance reform.

41 is just the latest number in ‘Health Reform by the Numbers,' our online campaign to raise awareness about why the time is now for health insurance reform.  To help spread the word, share this email with your family, friends and online networks.

Let's get it done.

Nancy-Ann DeParle
Director, White House Office of Health Reform

^{1 Letter to President Obama and Congress, March 11, 2010
2 The Commonwealth Fund, Seeing Red: The Growing Burden of Medical Bills and Debt Faced by U.S. Families, August 2008}

Good morning,

1 -- in every six dollars in the U.S. economy is spent on health care today.¹

If we do nothing, in 30 years, 1 out of every three dollars in our economy will be tied up in the health care system.²

Skyrocketing health care costs aren't just crippling the U.S. economy -- they're emptying the pocketbooks of American families.  If we do not enact health insurance reform, individual and family spending on premiums and out-of-pocket health care costs could increase 79 percent in just 10 years.³

Bottom line: the cost of doing nothing is too high.  The time is now to reform our broken health care system.

1 is just the latest number in 'Health Reform by the Numbers,' our online campaign to raise awareness about why we just can't wait any longer for health insurance reform.  Help spread the word by forwarding this message to your friends, family and online networks.

Let's get it done.

Sincerely,

Nancy-Ann DeParle
Director, White House Office of Health Reform

^{1 Department of Health and Human Services, National Health Expenditure Data
2 Congressional Budget Office, The Long-Term Budget Outlook, June 2009
3 Robert Wood Johnson and Urban Institute, The Failure to Enact Health Reform: 2010-2020}

Good afternoon,

If you’re an American under the age of 65, there's roughly a 50/50 chance that you will find yourself without coverage at some point in the next decade.¹

Simply put, losing insurance can happen to anyone.

At yesterday's health reform event, President Obama told the story of Natoma,  a self-employed woman in Ohio who found herself in the position of losing her health insurance after yet another rate hike from her insurance company:

"She realized that if she paid those health insurance premiums that had been jacked up by 40 percent … she couldn't make ends meet.  So January was her last month of being insured. Like so many responsible Americans -- folks who work hard every day, who try to do the right thing -- she was forced to hang her fortunes on chance... And on Saturday, Natoma was diagnosed with leukemia…

"Part of what makes this issue difficult is most of us do have health insurance, we still do.... But what we have to understand is that what's happened to Natoma, there but for the grace of God go any one of us."

For Natoma and the millions of other Americans forced to face the burden of medical bills they can't pay while at their most vulnerable -- the time is now for health insurance reform. Watch the video of Natoma's story and learn what more you can do to help spread the word about the need for reform.

50/50 is the latest number in 'Health Reform by the Numbers,' our online campaign to raise awareness about why we just can't wait any longer for health insurance reform. Help spread the word by sharing this message with your family, friends and online networks.

Let's get it done.

^{1 Department of the Treasury, The Risk of Losing Health Insurance Over a Decade}

Good afternoon,

9 -- that's  number of states and the District of Columbia where there is still no specific law that makes it illegal for insurers to reject applicants who are survivors of domestic violence by citing the history of domestic violence as a pre-existing condition.¹

Unfortunately, the gender inequalities across our broken heath care system don't end there.  In many states, insurance companies can still discriminate on the basis of gender -- charging women higher premiums than men simply because of their gender or denying coverage because of so-called "pre-existing conditions" like being pregnant, experiencing a prior pregnancy complication, or having undergone a C-section.  And health plans in the individual market often do not cover basic maternity care.

President Obama's proposal for health insurance reform would end the days of discrimination based on gender.  Insurance companies would be banned from denying coverage because of a pre-existing condition and would have to cover preventative care like mammograms.

For America's women and families, the time is now for health insurance reform.

9 is the latest number in ‘Health Reform by the Numbers,' our online campaign to raise awareness about why we just can't wait any longer for health insurance reform.  Help spread the word by sharing this message with your family, friends and online networks.

Let's get it done.

P.S. Still have questions about what reform means for you and your family?  Tune in tonight at 5:15 p.m. EDT and get your questions answered live by HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

^{1 National Women's Law Center, Still Nowhere to Turn}

Good morning,

3 million -- that's the decrease in the number of middle-income earners who obtained health insurance from their employers from 2000 to 2008.¹

And 3 times -- is how much faster health care premiums are rising compared to wages.²

While our broken health care system is hurting everyone, it's the middle class that's feeling it the most. A report just out from the non-partisan Robert Wood Johnson Foundation shows that the middle class became uninsured at a faster pace than those with less or more income. And if we do nothing, the problem will only get worse.

But there's hope. Health insurance reform will lower costs and put America's middle class and small businesses back in the driver's seat of their own health care. The stakes are just too high for the millions of Americans who are hurting because of the way our current health care system works.  The time is now for health insurance reform.

Let's get it done.

Nancy-Ann DeParle
Director, White House Office of Health Reform

^{1 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Barely Hanging On
2 Kaiser Family Foundation, Family Health Premiums Reach $13,375 Annually}

Good afternoon,

32,000,000 -- that's the number of Americans who will get health insurance under the President's plan.¹

That's also a little more than the entire populations of Ohio, Virginia, Kentucky and Arizona -- COMBINED.²

For the past couple weeks, we've been using key numbers to help raise awareness about how we just can't wait any longer for health insurance reform.  We used $1,115 to tell the story of how skyrocketing premiums are crippling America's workers.  We used 8 to convey how widespread and severe discrimination for pre-existing conditions is across the health insurance industry.   And we used numbers like 625 and 50/50 to clearly show that any one of us is at risk of losing insurance in our broken health care system.

Today -- in our last number of the series -- we're using 32,000,000 to represent not only all those who will get health care, but also all the numerous benefits America's families and small businesses will see from health insurance reform.  From eliminating discrimination based on pre-existing conditions to controlling costs and lowering the national deficit to providing tax credits for middle class families and small businesses, health insurance reform will finally put America's families and small businesses in control over their own health care.

Watch our new 'Health Reform by the Numbers' wrap-up video and learn more about what you have to gain from reform:

Let's get it done!

Sincerely,

Nancy-Ann DeParle
Director, White House Office of Health Reform

^{1 Source: Congressional Budget Office, Letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
2 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Estimates}

Dear Friend,

Today, in his final speech before this weekend's vote, President Obama made the most powerful case yet for health insurance reform:

Together, we are going to fix health care in America.

Let's get it done.

Good afternoon,

Since the House of Representatives voted to pass health reform legislation on Sunday night, the legislative process and its political impact have been the focus of all the newspapers and cable TV pundits.

Outside of DC, however, many Americans are trying to cut through the chatter and get to the substance of reform with a simple question: "What does health insurance reform actually mean for me?" To help, we've put together some of the key benefits from health insurance reform.

Let's start with how health insurance reform will expand and strengthen coverage:

• This year, children with pre-existing conditions can no longer be denied health insurance coverage. Once the new health insurance exchanges begin in the coming years, pre-existing condition discrimination will become a thing of the past for everyone.
• This year, health care plans will allow young people to remain on their parents' insurance policy up until their 26th birthday.
• This year, insurance companies will be banned from dropping people from coverage when they get sick, and they will be banned from implementing lifetime caps on coverage. This year, restrictive annual limits on coverage will be banned for certain plans. Under health insurance reform, Americans will be ensured access to the care they need.
• This year, adults who are uninsured because of pre-existing conditions will have access to affordable insurance through a temporary subsidized high-risk pool.
• In the next fiscal year, the bill increases funding for community health centers, so they can treat nearly double the number of patients over the next five years.
• This year, we'll also establish an independent commission to advise on how best to build the health care workforce and increase the number of nurses, doctors and other professionals to meet our country's needs.  Going forward, we will provide $1.5 billion in funding to support the next generation of doctors, nurses and other primary care practitioners -- on top of a $500 million investment from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Health insurance reform will also curb some of the worst insurance industry practices and strengthen consumer protections:

• This year, this bill creates a new, independent appeals process that ensures consumers in new private plans have access to an effective process to appeal decisions made by their insurer.
• This year, discrimination based on salary will be outlawed. New group health plans will be prohibited from establishing any eligibility rules for health care coverage that discriminate in favor of higher-wage employees.
• Beginning this fiscal year, this bill provides funding to states to help establish offices of health insurance consumer assistance in order to help individuals in the process of filing complaints or appeals against insurance companies.
• Starting January 1, 2011, insurers in the individual and small group market will be required to spend 80 percent of their premium dollars on medical services. Insurers in the large group market will be required to spend 85 percent of their premium dollars on medical services. Any insurers who don't meet those thresholds will be required to provide rebates to their policyholders.
• Starting in 2011, this bill helps states require insurance companies to submit justification for requested premium increases. Any company with excessive or unjustified premium increases may not be able to participate in the new health insurance exchanges.

Reform immediately begins to lower health care costs for American families and small businesses:

• This year, small businesses that choose to offer coverage will begin to receive tax credits of up to 35 percent of premiums to help make employee coverage more affordable.
• This year, new private plans will be required to provide free preventive care: no co-payments and no deductibles for preventive services. And beginning January 1, 2011, Medicare will do the same.
• This year, this bill will provide help for early retirees by creating a temporary re-insurance program to help offset the costs of expensive premiums for employers and retirees age 55-64.
• This year, this bill starts to close the Medicare Part D 'donut hole' by providing a $250 rebate to Medicare beneficiaries who hit the gap in prescription drug coverage. And beginning in 2011, the bill institutes a 50% discount on prescription drugs in the 'donut hole.'

Thank you,

Nancy-Ann DeParle
Director, White House Office of Health Reform

Good morning,

I'm writing you today to talk about literally putting money back in your pocket.

We've launched the Tax Savings Tool at WhiteHouse.gov to make sure as many Americans as possible know about and take advantage of the array of middle class tax refunds passed in the Recovery Act last year. With a few simple questions, the tool generates a printable checklist anyone can use to make sure they don't miss out on any of the benefits they may be owed.

If you didn't know that, you may not know about all of the other tax cuts that may be available to you as a result of the Recovery Act -- refunds relating to everything from college tuition to new cars to new houses to using more renewable energy. The reason the President fought for all of these tax cuts as part of the Recovery Act was to give middle class families a little extra break in what continues to be a tough economic time -- and also to help give the economy itself a boost.

For families across the country, maybe including yours, these tax cuts have provided the incentive they need to make energy-saving improvements to their homes, finally get a new car, or buy a home for the first time. All of that is helping to jumpstart the economy and provide more clean energy, manufacturing and construction jobs for working families, contributing to the 2 million jobs the Recovery Act has created or saved since it passed.

So take a look at the tool and make sure you're getting everything you can out of your tax return -– you may be pleasantly surprised.

Sincerely,

Joe Biden
Vice President

Good afternoon,

These have been very tough years for our country. Millions of our family members, friends and neighbors have lost their jobs in the great recession. Plummeting home values closed out what had already been a lost decade of stagnant wages and rising costs.

But today we got an encouraging sign of better times ahead. We learned that the economy is now actually producing a substantial number of jobs instead of losing them -- there were 162,000 new jobs created in March, the most positive jobs report we have had in three years.

One community where we've seen these glimmers of hope is Charlotte, North Carolina, where the President spoke today.  An advanced battery company, one of those industries at the forefront of the emerging clean energy economy, has also been at the forefront of our recovery in no small thanks to a boost from the Recovery Act. We had a chance to check it out a few days before the President headed down. Watch a quick video to get a sense of what hope looks like for our economy:

Pulling America back from what many experts warned could be another Great Depression and putting us on a course towards new jobs and new industries has been the President's top priority since Day 1. That's why he made signing the Recovery Act his first task when he came into office. Two million more Americans are on the job today because of the Recovery Act, and we have broken the back of the worst recession in a generation.

We are gratified for that. But we are not satisfied. Not by a long shot.

We know we have a lot of work in front of us to repair the damage and rebuild our economy. We also know that there will be some additional bumps in the road ahead.

But today's news is a positive sign post along that road.

And I want you to know that the President and all of us in the Administration will continue to work day and night to pursue a recovery that strengthens the middle class and reaches all our communities and lays a lasting foundation for a better future.

Sincerely,

David Axelrod
Senior Advisor to the President

Good morning,

I'm writing you from the largest gathering of world leaders that the United States has hosted since the founding of the United Nations 65 years ago. Forty-seven countries are joining forces at President Obama's Nuclear Security Summit to address the most daunting security threat of our time: nuclear terrorism.

To go over the progress that's been made, President Obama will hold a press conference at 4:30 p.m. EDT that you can watch live on WhiteHouse.gov. But you don't need to wait until then: Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes will answer your questions in a live web chat at 1:00 p.m. EDT.

So tune in to http://www.WhiteHouse.gov/nuclear-security-summit later today for both the web chat and the press conference.

Three very important things have happened recently to make our Nation – indeed the world – a safer place.

Last week the Defense Department released the President's Nuclear Posture Review, laying out a vision to, as the President put it, "reduce the role of nuclear weapons in our national security strategy and focus on reducing the nuclear dangers of the 21st century, while sustaining a safe, secure and effective nuclear deterrent for the United States and our allies and partners as long as nuclear weapons exist."

Two days after that, President Obama and Russian President Medvedev signed the landmark New START Treaty, which requires the United States and Russia to reduce -- by 30 percent below the levels in a treaty signed in 2002 -- the number of nuclear warheads they have deployed on intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-based ballistic missiles, and bombers.

Then, beginning on Sunday of this week, the President engaged in a steady stream of bilateral meetings before personally welcoming every delegation last night and holding a working dinner. Today, the President is chairing plenary sessions all day long to work toward solid, consensus approaches to this issue.

It's been a very busy, but productive few weeks, and there is much to talk about. So bring your questions to the live chat and tune in after that for the press conference:

• 1:00 p.m. EDT: Web chat with Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes
• 4:30 p.m. EDT: Press Conference with President Barack Obama

Thank you,

Denis McDonough
Chief of Staff, National Security Staff