Health care reform is on everyone's mind. It is an issue which has become increasingly difficult to ignore as we keep paying more for less health care and worrying about how we can afford it in the future. A poll in October 2007 found health care at the top of the list of issues people in North Carolina want their government to address. Not a single day passes without "news" of another state, organization, or political candidate proposing a new way to fix the problem. One can only hope that this abundance of reform ideas leads to real change instead of the usual burn-out and boredom often following hot news items.
Although still early in the game, presidential candidates all offer ways to fix the problem. Many plans are still sketchy, and the devil is in the details, but we may wish to consider the candidates' views on how to fix health care as we begin to think about our voting decisions.
General Websites of interest on Health Care Reform.
1. Presidential Election.com is a non partisan group who offer a good source for general news on the 2008 presidential campaign.
2. Your Candidate Your Health provides the Presidential candidates' responses on questions concerning health care.
3. The Commonwealth Fund organization has two sites of interest. The first site provides an an interactive tool for comparison between the candidates on specific issues. The second site provides a summary regarding the candidates positions on health care.
Below is a brief summary of the Presidential candidates' current views on Health Care Reform in alphabetical order. More information is available on their respective websites.
Hillary Clinton is proposing an American Health Choices Plan that covers all Americans and improves health care by lowering costs and improving quality. A refundable tax credit will prevent premiums from exceeding a percentage of family income.
John McCain's proposal would harness competition by promoting insurance policy purchases across state lines, purchasing cheaper policies between jobs and more expensive policies while employed, and with the use of tax-exempt health savings accounts to pay for health care expenses.
Barack Obama would make available a new national health plan that would give individuals and small businesses the choice of buying affordable, portable health care coverage similar to that available to federal employees. Subsidies would make insurance affordable for those who cannot pay for it. Greater availability of generic drugs would further help decrease health care costs.
In summary, all candidates agree that health care costs need to be addressed. The Democrats prefer some type of universal health care solution that involves individuals and employees sharing the costs and working with the insurance and pharmaceutical industries to contain costs of premiums. McCain is for market-based solutions such as increasing competition among insurers, tax subsidies, and the availability of health savings accounts.
Leaguers may also wish to review the LWVUS position on health care reform.
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