Obama: ‘We Should Expect a Country as Wealthy as Ours’ to Provide Health Care to All

“That is something that we should expect a country as wealthy as ours is providing to every person, to every citizen. And the idea that we would even consider taking that away from Regina, or Tonya, or Susanne’s patients, makes absolutely no sense. Now, the good news is that we have over 10 million people who’ve now signed up under the federal exchanges and millions more who are signing up from the expanded Medicaid that’s taking place in states all across the country. Those are millions of people who are saving money, millions of people who are getting preventive care, millions of people who feel for the first time, in some cases, the security of knowing that if something goes wrong in their families or with them that they’re covered, that somebody has got their backs, that they’re not going to be bankrupt, that they’re not going to have to split the pills that have been prescribed in half because that’s all they can afford. They can continue with their professions or their schooling. And it makes this country more productive. It’s good for all of us.”