A look at the points in Obama’s speech

A look at key points in Obama’s health care speech:

—Individuals would be required to carry basic health insurance. Those who can’t afford it would get a hardship waiver.

—Businesses would be required to offer their workers health care or chip in to help cover the cost. Ninety-five percent of small businesses would be exempt because of their size and narrow profit margin.

—Medical malpractice reform is not a “silver bullet,” but practicing “defensive medicine” can lead to unnecessary costs; demonstration projects will be reviewed to see what changes to medical malpractice insurance would work best.

—It would be against the law for insurance companies to deny coverage because of a pre-existing condition.

—Promised to protect Medicare and reassured the elderly that Medicare funds would not be used to overhaul health care.

—A public option, or alternative to private insurance, needs to be available to the uninsured to “keep insurance companies honest.”

—The public option would not be subsidized by taxpayers, but would be self-sufficient and rely on the premiums it collects; the Congressional Budget Office estimates that fewer than 5 percent of Americans would sign up.