Candidates on Affordable Health Care
By: Source: AARP.org Date Posted:
We believe all Americans should have access to affordable health care, including prescription drugs, and these costs should not burden future generations.
The bolded candidate is listed first, then the statement we identified for the candidate. In some cases, we may not have identified a statement for the Divided We Fail principle listed above.
Republicans
John Cox
"Competition in health care will bring down costs and improve efficiency. We should inject patient and doctor choice into the system to create more accountability and cost control. As president, I will use America's influence to force an end to foreign governments' subsidizing drug costs at Americans' expense. Ending the tax deduction for employee health insurance would provide more opportunity for patient choice and consumer power."
(Campaign website, September 18, 2007)
http://www.cox2008.com/cox/issues/
Rudy Giuliani
Expand Choice Through Tax Code Reform.
Rudy proposes a Health Insurance Credit to low-income Americans that can be coupled with other revenue sources such as Medicaid and employer contributions to make coverage more affordable to millions of the uninsured.
Drive Quality and Price Transparency.
Reform the Medical Liability Legal System.
Reward States For Innovative Solutions.
Require Availability of Low-Cost Insurance Options. If a state's mandates prevent affordable health care coverage, citizens should be allowed to purchase coverage through interstate markets.
Save Lives and Reduce Costs by Streamlining the FDA Process.
Invest In Health IT to Reduce Medical Errors, Improve Efficiency, and Detect Health Threats.
Improve and Expand Health Savings Accounts.
Campaign website, October 2, 2007) http://www.joinrudy2008.com/commitment/indepth/8
Mike Huckabee
"We can make health care more affordable by reforming medical liability; adopting electronic record keeping; making health insurance more portable from one job to another; expanding health savings accounts to everyone, not just those with high deductibles; and making health insurance tax deductible for individuals and families as it now is for businesses. Low income families would get tax credits instead of deductions. We don't need all the government controls that would inevitably come with universal health care…As President I will…lead a complete overhaul of our health care system, not more of the same, paid for by Uncle Sam at the expense of hard-working families..."
(Campaign website, October 2, 2007)
http://www.mikehuckabee.com/index.cfm
Duncan Hunter
"Right now, if you live in any state in the union, and you look up health care costs, health care coverage in a particular state…I saw one analysis…it's the same coverage on a particular policy that cost $750 a month in Massachusetts could be purchased for $170 a month in Missouri…"
"So the first thing I would offer is this, and this would bring down the cost of healthcare dramatically: let's let people buy across state lines. Why shouldn't we? You can look at cars that are for sale across state lines, you can buy those, you can buy clothes, you can buy shoes, you can buy almost anything, but you can't buy a healthcare policy across state lines." (AARP forum, Iowa state fair, August 11, 2007)
Alan Keyes
"I find all of these people clamoring for healthcare and access to healthcare, and they want to do it through a government-dominated system, and I wonder whether, at the work they do, if they're not government employees, they would be content to have the terms on which they work dictated, to have the terms on which they work established in a way that had no regard for what ought to be their liberty. I don't think its right that we should seek to achieve reform of our health care system by essentially curtailing the liberty of all the people in the health care sector. There is a better way."
(Campaign website, September 28, 2007) http://www.alankeyes.com/issues_list.php#health_care
John McCain
…We can and must provide access to health care for all our citizens…
Allow individuals to get insurance through any organization or association that they choose: employers, individual purchases, churches, professional association, and so forth. These policies will be available to small businesses and the self-employed, will be portable across all jobs, and will automatically bridge the time between retirement and Medicare eligibility.
Families should be able to purchase health insurance nationwide, across state lines…
Reform the tax code to eliminate the bias toward employer-sponsored health insurance, and provide all individuals with a $2,500 tax credit ($5,000 for families) to increase incentives for insurance coverage. Individuals owning innovative multi-year policies that cost less than the full credit can deposit remainder in expanded health savings accounts.
(Campaign website, October 12, 2007) http://www.johnmccain.com/Informing/Issues/19ba2f1c-c03f-4ac2-8cd5-5cf2edb527cf.htm
Ron Paul
"So what we need to do is… medical savings accounts…. [L]egalize freedom of choice. That is, get people an ability to put money aside and get it back from their taxes, a tax credit. If they don't spend the money, they get to keep it. So the incentive is to spend less…. If you allow the patient to make the decision, he can pick and choose his doctor; he can pick and choose the type of medicine…."
(http://www.expertvoter.org/PlayVideo.asp?VideoID=167)
"Congress must remove bureaucratic regulations that prevent America's seniors from enjoying lower prices available from Internet and foreign pharmacies. The key to lowering drug prices is to create a true, competitive free market for prescription drugs."
("Congress Must Work for Seniors," Texas Straight Talk, A Weekly Column, September 18, 2000)
Mitt Romney
Governor Romney Proposed Six Concrete Steps To Reach His Health Care Reform Goals:
Step 1: Establish Federal Incentives To Deregulate And Reform State Health Insurance Markets So Market Forces Can Work.
Step 2: Redirect Federal Spending On "Free Care" To Help The Low-Income Uninsured Purchase Private Insurance.
Step 3: Institute Health Savings Account (HSA) Enhancements And The Full Deductibility Of Qualified Medical Expenses.
Step 4: Promote Innovation In Medicaid.
Step 5: Implement Medical Liability Reform.
Step 6: Bring Market Dynamics And Modern Technology To Health Care.
(Campaign website) http://www.mittromney.com/healthcare
Tom Tancredo
"The two major problems are the high cost of care and the number of uninsured. Tort reform and immigration enforcement would save the system billions and drive down costs…As for the uninsured: as many as 25% of them are illegal aliens and should be deported or encouraged to leave. For citizens and legal residents who are employed by businesses which cannot afford coverage, I favor association health plans which band small businesses together to access lower cost insurance. For those out of work, state governments should be the primary source of relief, although I would not rule out federal incentives or limited subsidies to make sure families who have fallen on hard times are not without coverage."
(Campaign website) http://tancredo.house.gov/
Fred Thompson
"We have the best health care in the world but we are paying more than we should for it. We have a massive bureaucracy in both the private and public health care sectors that controls costs by dictating what services we are allowed to get and when. Someone has to decide what costs are worth the money. It can be the government, the insurance company or it can be you. I think it is best if you, yourself decide what is best for you and your family, with insurance that doesn't have to depend on your employment - coverage that you can take with you if you change jobs; insurance that you may purchase from anywhere in the nation for the best value."
(Campaign website, October 1, 2007)
http://www.ontheissues.org/Senate/Fred_Thompson.htm#Health_Care.
Democrats
Joe Biden
"Joe Biden's highest priorities - along with ending the war in Iraq - are universal health care and education. He will convene a national gathering of key health care stakeholders from labor, business, the insurance industry, the health care industry and government within the first 90 days of his administration to seize the historic opportunity created by the recognition from organizations ranging from Fortune 500 companies, the Business Roundtable and the AMA to the labor movement that the time has come for universal, affordable health care. President Biden will issue the following challenge: develop a comprehensive plan for full coverage of every American within six months."
(Campaign website October 2, 2007)
http://www.ontheissues.org/Joe_Biden.htm#Health_Care
Hillary Clinton
Hillary's American Health Choices Plan covers all Americans and improves health care by lowering costs and improving quality… It puts the consumer in the driver's seat by offering more choices and lowering costs. If you're one of the tens of million Americans without coverage or if you don't like the coverage you have, you will have a choice of plans…and that coverage will be affordable…if you like the plan you have, you can keep it.
Affordable: … The plan provides tax credits for working families to help them cover their costs.
Available: … The insurance companies can't deny you coverage if you have a pre-existing condition.
Reliable: It's portable. If you change or lose your job, you keep your health care.
(Campaign website, October 4, 2007, http://www.hillaryclinton.com/feature/healthcareplan/)
Chris Dodd
Chris Dodd's Plan:
Ensures all Americans will have quality, affordable health coverage during Chris Dodd's first term.
The Dodd plan will create a health insurance marketplace called Universal HealthMart that is based on, and parallel to, the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan (FEHBP).
Individuals and businesses will contribute to Universal HealthMart based on their ability to pay.
Premiums will be affordable based on leveraged negotiating power, spreading risk, reduced administrative costs, and incentives for technology and preventive care.
Coverage will be portable -- insurance purchased in Universal HealthMart will follow individuals.
(Campaign website, October 4, 2007)
http://chrisdodd.com/issues/healthcare
John Edwards
"John Edwards…plan for true universal health care that:
Requires by law that every American have comprehensive health coverage, including mental health coverage.
Requires businesses to either cover their employees or help pay their premiums.
Makes insurance affordable by creating new tax credits, expanding Medicaid and SCHIP, reforming insurance laws, and taking innovative steps to contain costs.
Creates new "Health Care Markets" to give families and businesses purchasing power and a choice of quality plans, including one public plan. The health care system could evolve into a single-payer plan...
Strengthens Medicare by negotiating costs with drug makers and giving beneficiaries the choice of a public plan for their prescription drugs, and permits safe reimportation of affordable medicine from Canada..."
(Campaign website)
http://johnedwards.com/olderamericans
Mike Gravel
"Senator Gravel advocates a universal health-care voucher program in which the federal government would issue annual health care vouchers to Americans based on their projected needs. Under the Senator's plan, all Americans would be fully covered and would be free to use their vouchers to choose their own health care professional. No one would ever be denied health insurance because of their health, wealth, or any other reason. A universal health-care voucher plan will also relieve American businesses of the financial responsibility of insuring their workers while ensuring that their workers get adequate care."
(Campaign website, October 4, 2007)
http://www.gravel2008.us/issues
Dennis Kucinich
"We will establish a streamlined national health insurance, 'Enhanced Medicare for Everyone.' It would be publicly financed health care, privately delivered and will put patients and doctors back in control of the system. Coverage will be more complete than private insurance plans; encourage prevention; and include prescription drugs, dental care mental health care, and alternative medicine and complementary medicine. Congressman Kucinich is the only Presidential candidate with a plan for a universal single payer, not for profit healthcare system." (Campaign literature, October 9, 2007)
Barack Obama
My plan begins by covering every American. No one will be turned away because of a preexisting condition. . . . Everyone will be able buy into a new health insurance plan that's similar to the one that every federal employee [has]. If you cannot afford this insurance, you will receive a subsidy to pay for it... If you change jobs, your insurance will go with you. We will make generic drugs more available . . . and will tell the drug companies that their days of forcing affordable prescription drugs out of the market are over.
I have a universal health care plan that will…cut the cost of a typical family's premiums by up to $2500 a year. (Speech in Iowa City, IA, 5/29/07; Speech in Washington, D.C., 6/19/07).
Bill Richardson
All Americans will have the choice to keep their current coverage...Americans will have affordable coverage choices through 1) the same plan as members of Congress; 2) Medicare for those 55-64; 3) Medicaid and SCHIP for lower income families; 4) existing family coverage for young adults up to age 25; and 5) a Heroes Health Card and stronger Veterans Administration for veterans…
1. All Americans will have personal responsibility for obtaining coverage;
Employers will be required to do their fair share to contribute to a healthy and covered work force;
2. A sliding-scale tax credit will be available for Americans who need help affording coverage;
3. American families will get immediate relief from high interest rates for medical debt placed on credit cards.
(Campaign website, October 30, 2007)
http://www.richardsonforpresident.com/issues/healthcare?id=0001
The statements above come from candidate websites, speeches, books and campaign literature and from candidate answers to questions at events around the country. Prior to publication, each candidate was asked to review their statements to ensure accuracy.
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