OBAMARAMA

Bloomberg News reports today on the details of Sen. Obama’s universal health care plan, which he is set to unveil this afternoon in a speech at the University of Iowa.

He’s received his fair share of flack for lacking a comprehensive proposal on the issue — despite the fact that until last week the only candidate in either party to lay out a health care plan was John Edwards — but all that nonsense stops now. The details are on the table.

Here’s how Bloomberg reports them:

Obama, 45, an Illinois senator, would increase preventive screening, institute an electronic health records system, allow Medicare to bulk-buy prescription drugs, and provide reinsurance for catastrophic coverage — steps Obama said could save as much as $100 billion a year in health-care costs.

For those who still couldn’t afford coverage, Obama would offer subsidized health insurance, expand government Medicaid and children’s plans and overhaul the insurance market, according to excerpts of a speech he’s expected to give today at the University of Iowa in Iowa City.

“To help pay for this, we will ask all but the smallest businesses who don’t make a meaningful contribution today to the health coverage of their employees to do so by supporting this new plan,” Obama will tell supporters. “And we will allow the temporary Bush tax cut for the wealthiest Americans to expire.”

…In order to cut costs, Obama would spend $10 billion over five years to move health records from a paper system to an electronic one… Obama also supports efforts in Congress to allow Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices directly — a move some Democrats say could save as much as $30 billion annually.

…Obama also plans to increase competition among health insurance providers while creating a so-called National Health Insurance Exchange to act as an industry watchdog to help keep costs down. These strategies would reduce premiums for every U.S. household by $2,500, according to the text of his speech.

“In the end, coverage without cost containment will only shift our burdens, not relieve them,” Obama is expected to say. “So we will take steps to remove the waste and inefficiency from the system so we can bring down costs and improve the quality of our care.”

…Obama would also allow children to remain on their parents’ health insurance until the age of 25, and offer individuals who can’t afford private insurance access to a government plan that would be based on the federal employee system. He didn’t elaborate on how people would qualify for such a plan.

“It’s time to bring together businesses, the medical community, and members of both parties around a comprehensive solution to this crisis,” Obama will say. “It’s time to let the drug and insurance industries know that while they’ll get a seat at the table, they don’t get to buy every chair.”

Promises to be an important and exciting speech. We’ll add video when it becomes available.

You can click here to read all “Here’s the Beef” posts, which highlight Sen. Obama’s substantive policy proposals.

UPDATE: As promised: