Biden Delivers Remarks On Health Care | NBC News
Table of Contents
- Waves of hope and fear as they undulate after enduring more than any parent...
- Ritter's and millions more America's back to the way things were I...
- It to meet his political wishes there are no miracles coming we're not going...
- Dramatic expansion of health coverage and bold steps to lower health care cost...
- Care they now the president will go into the White House and we'll fight like...
- I cannot fad go through that which is exactly what happened to many families...
00:00
waves of hope and fear as they undulate
after enduring more than any parent
should have to endure the Ritter's still
faced a future where their twins could
be denied coverage for the rest of their
lives because they had a pre-existing
condition the Affordable Care Act was
created to put a stop to that in
humanity to ensure the people like
stacey thrusting them the worst
nightmare of their lives could focus on
the fight that matters to save their
00:31
children
Stacey's twin won their fight they beat
cancer and now they're 22 years of age
Jan is studying early education
Elizabethtown College Madeline just
graduated from Arcadia University with a
degree in International Studies and
because of the law the ACA the insurance
companies can no longer deny them
coverage because they're survivors of
cancer a pre-existing condition I'm
01:03
proud I'm proud of the Affordable Care
Act in addition to helping people with
pre-existing conditions this is the law
the delivering vital coverage for 20
million American who did not have health
insurance a law that bars insurance
companies from capping American benefits
and from charging women more for
insurance simply because they are a
woman so law that reduced prescription
01:36
drug costs by nearly 12 for nearly 12
million seniors would see their cost
spiked because the Medicare doughnut
hole would have suddenly reopened and
their costs would have gone up
precipitously it's the law that saves
lives but now but now in the middle of
the worst public health crisis in modern
history at least since the pandemic of
1918 Donald Trump is suing to take the
02:08
Ritter's and millions more
America's back to the way things were I
think it's cruel its heartless its
callous it's all because in my view he
can't abide the thought of letting stand
one of President Obama's greatest
achievements the Affordable Care Act you
know we've seen that same calluses
callousness in his handling of the
02:37
coronavirus just over three months ago
as most Americans are first coming to
grips with this unprecedented scale of
danger this pandemic President Trump
publicly claimed that and I quote
anybody anybody that wants a test
anybody can get it it simply was not
true
and he knew it then five days ago and
03:11
his campaign rally in Tulsa Oklahoma
he admitting he admitted telling people
and I quote we have to slow the testing
down slow it down please actually said
it the hole in his hour and 50 minutes
speech slowed the testing down please at
first is spoke people try spokespeople
try to say he was joking but then Trump
himself said he wasn't joking he called
03:43
testing quote a double-edged sword
testing is a double-edged sword that's
the quote let's be crystal clear about
what he means by that testing
unequivocally saves lives and widespread
testing is the key to opening our
economy again that's one edge of the
sword the other edge they thinks that
finding out that more Americans are sick
04:14
will make him look bad that's what he's
worried about
he's worried about looking bad well
Donald Trump needs to stop caring about
how he looks you start caring about what
America is happening to the rest of
America the number of cases is
increasing in 29 states we're gonna be
dealing with for this for a long time
Trump can't wish it away he can't bend
04:49
it to meet his political wishes there
are no miracles coming we're not going
to have to wait for this miracle because
nuns coming we're gonna have to step up
as Americans all of us and do both the
simple things and the hard things to
keep our families and ever safe to
reopen our economy to eventually put
this pandemic behind us and sadly we're
gonna have to do without responsible
05:20
leadership coming out of the White House
so it's up to us all of us we're going
to have to wear masks I have mine off
because we're socially distance and I'm
standing in front of a microphone but
worried everywhere I go I step outside
of my house and I know as Americans it's
not something we're used to but it
matters all the evidence from all over
the world tells us it just might be the
single most effective thing we can do
05:52
we're gonna have to socially distance
like we are here today it's not easy and
it seems so strange to us not as
Americans but as human beings
we're built to talk to laugh to hug to
gather with other people I know I am and
I know you are but for now we have to
socially distance it matters we're gonna
have to find a way to keep our economy
running as we bring the number of cases
down president wants us to believe
06:24
there's a choice between the economy and
public health amazingly he still not has
hasn't grasped the most base
fact of this crisis to fix the economy
we have to get control over the virus
say it again
to fix the economy we have to get
control over the virus it's like a child
who can't believe this has happened to
him all his whining and self-pity
06:57
well this pandemic didn't happen to him
it happened to all of us and his job
isn't to whine about it his job is to do
something about it to lead if I have the
honor of being president I promise you I
will lead I will do everything I can to
take responsibility and ease this burden
on you and your families I'll put your
family first that will begin with a
07:28
dramatic expansion of health coverage
and bold steps to lower health care cost
we need a public option now more than
ever especially man more than 20 million
people are unemployed that public option
will allow every American regardless of
their employment status the choice to
get a Medicare like plan it will force
private insurers to keep premiums low
offer better coverage because for the
first time they'll have to compete for
08:00
your business against the public insurer
that doesn't have to make a profit we're
going to lower premiums for people
buying coverage on their own by
guaranteeing that no American ever has
to spend more than 8.5 percent of their
income on health insurance and that
number will be lower for lower-income
people all the detail of this plan will
be laid out in the next few weeks we're
also going to further reduce cost by
making a less expensive Americans to
08:32
choose plans with lower deductibles and
out-of-pocket expenses by lower
prescription drug prices by ending the
practice of so-called surprise and
Billings which can leave you with
unexpectedly high bills
after you leave a hospital so here's the
bottom line
my plan lowers healthcare cost gets this
universal coverage quickly when
Americans desperately needed now
09:03
families are reeling right now
enduring illness forced into risky
choices losing their employers plans in
droves as their employers go out of
business or have to suspend business
they need lifelines now now that's what
the families here today deserve that's
what the families all across this nation
deserve they don't need a president to
go into court to deny them the health
09:35
care they now the president will go into
the White House and we'll fight like
hell to make sure they get the health
care they need if Donald Trump refused
an end as senseless crusade against
health coverage
I look forward to ending it for him and
working quickly with Congress
traumatically ramp up protections to get
America's universal coverage and lower
health care costs as soon as humanly
10:06
possible this is my promise to you well
I'm president I will take care of your
health care coverage and your family the
same way I would my own this is personal
to me and to my wife Jill when I was
sworn in the United States Senate next
to a hospital bed my wife and daughter
had just been killed in a car crash and
lying in that bedroom my two young boys
10:36
surviving boys I couldn't have imagined
what it would have been like if we
hadn't had health care health care we
needed it needed immediately
forty years later one of those little
boys my grown son Beau Biden after
having been the Attorney General and
coming
for Iraq from Iraq for a year I
contracted a fatal cancer question
11:11
wasn't whether or not he could survive
it question was how long he would have
to live how many months I remember
sitting in that hospital walter reed
with my two other children hunter and
ashley and jill and his wife and his two
children all on his hands I remember
thinking I give you my word to this what
in the hell would I do if the insurance
11:46
company was allowed to do it they could
have done before the Affordable Health
Care Act come in and say you've run out
of time you've run out of your coverage
suffer the last two three four or five
painful months dying on your own
suffering piece I can't fathom
12:13
I cannot fad go through that which is
exactly what happened to many families
before the Affordable Care Act so Amy I
understand when I say I'll take care of
your health care coverage the same way I
take care of my family
there is nothing I take more seriously
that's my promise to Stacey and Victoria
12:45
Amy and every American that's what the
presidency is the presidency is a duty
to care a duty to care for everyone not
just to voted for you but to care for
everyone for all of us
and no trust is more sacred no
responsibility more solemn no purpose
more fundamental and for a president to
do absolutely everything that he or she
13:17
can do to protect American lives
so I wanna I want every single American
to know if you're sick if you're
struggling if you're worried about how
you're going to get through the day I
will not abandon you I will not leave
you to face these challenges alone and
we're going to get through this together
we're gonna build a health care system
I'm gonna build on it we're gonna build
13:48
our economy our country back to better
than it was before this god-awful crisis
that I promise you let me end by
thanking the families for being so
public and willing to come here because
there's so many families like yours all
across America when they heard you today
that's me I get it there's real
solidarity we're gonna get this done
14:19
I promise you
god bless you all and may God protect
our troops
thank you
you