Barack Obama

Obama's 9 September 2009 address to Congress connects three pieces of his healthcare proposal: an insurance marketplace, help with premiums and a requirement to obtain coverage. He explains why rules on pre-existing conditions depend on who participates in the insurance pool. That makes the parts of the proposal intelligible together, instead of presenting a menu of benefits. Read it as the administration's case at that stage of the debate, not as a complete description of the law eventually passed.