denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions . Key differences Obama 's plan eliminates the controversial proposal added to the Senate bill that exempts Nebraska from paying increased Medicaid expenses . It also provides additional federal financing to all of the states for the Medicaid expansion . The president 's proposal closes the Medicare prescription drug `` doughnut hole . '' Under current Medicare limits , seniors must pick up the costs once their drug costs reach $ 2,830 and pay all costs out of pocket until they reach $ 4,550 , at which point Medicare coverage kicks back in . Obama 's proposal eases the `` doughnut hole '' in the short term by providing a $ 250 rebate to Medicare beneficiaries who reach the limit in 2010 . The plan closes the doughnut hole completely by 2020 . The plan also establishes a Health Insurance Rate Authority to provide an additional level of oversight of insurance premium increase at the federal level , giving the government new authority to block excessive rate hikes by health insurance companies . Tax credits The president 's proposal increases federal subsidies to help people buy insurance . New health insurance subsidies would be
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- President Obama introduced a health care plan that he says will bridge the gap between the House and Senate bills passed last year . His proposal is similar to the Senate bill , with a few nods to the House plan . Here are some of the highlights of his plan , according to the White House . Basics The president says his health care proposal will help more than 31 million uninsured Americans get coverage . Obama says his plan includes the largest middle-class tax cut for health care in history . It establishes a health insurance market that would provide the same insurance choices that members of Congress have . Health insurance exchanges , as proposed in the Senate bill , would be created to make it easier for small businesses , the self-employed and the unemployed to purchase less expensive coverage . There is no public option , an idea strongly backed by liberal Democrats but fiercely opposed both by Republicans and key Democratic moderates . Like the House and Senate plans , Obama 's proposal would bar insurers from charging higher premiums based on a person 's gender or medical history or