Health Care

America has a health care crisis. Nearly 47 million of us have no health care coverage—and millions more can’t afford health care or medicines.

In March, the AFL-CIO called for a guaranteed health care coverage system modeled on an improved Medicare program. (Read more about our proposal and find out more about what’s wrong with health care in America today.)

Check out the 2008 presidential candidates' positions on health care.

Hillary Rodham Clinton (D)

 

In May, Clinton announced new proposals to extend health care coverage and lower costs. The proposals include a focus on large-scale drug price negotiation, prevention programs, electronic record keeping and better research into the effectiveness of drugs and treatments. Clinton aims in her plan to allow more people, including those with pre-existing conditions, to join private insurance plans.

 

“As president, I will end the practice of insurance company cherry-picking once and for all by allowing anyone who wants to join a plan to do so and prohibiting insurance companies from carving out benefits or charging higher rates to people with health problems.” (The New York Times, 5/25/07)

In August, Clinton announced the second phase of her health care plan, an initiative to improve quality of care. She proposed new certification programs for doctors, funding and disseminating state-of-the-art research and training and retaining more nursing staff. (The Washington Post, 8/23/2007)

Clinton says our current health care system is not just broken—it’s immoral:

“'Our health care system is immoral because it doesn't provide health care to everybody,' said Clinton, the keynote speaker at KCBS Health Etc., a daylong symposium at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium. 'It's wildly uneconomical. We pay more than everybody else in the world for less.

"'It is sowing the seeds of its own destruction,' said Clinton, who said health care is one of the top three problems the country faces, along with economic inequality and energy dependence.” (San Francisco Chronicle, 4/14/07)

The solution, Clinton says, is universal health coverage.

“'We're going to have universal health care when I'm president—there's no doubt about that. We're going to get it done,' the New York senator and front-runner for the 2008 nomination said." (Associated Press, 3/26/07) 
 

John McCain (R)

McCain has advocated shifting health care responsibility to individuals.

"In a WMUR New Hampshire town hall meeting, McCain said the biggest problem with health care is inflation and that responsibilities must be shifted from the employer to the individual. He also noted the importance of allowing small businesses to create health care pools and emphasized medical malpractice reform. McCain said, 'you’ve got to make portable health insurance more affordable' and that to make health care portable, premiums would probably have to go up." (WMUR New Hampshire, 3/30/07)

In the past year, McCain has posted two health care-related press releases on his Senate website, both supporting stem cell research. Prior to that, most of his public statements advocated legislation he co-sponsored to make generic drugs more accessible.

In a 2003 statement, he labeled “medical malpractice reform…one of the most critical factors negatively impacting our nation's health care system.”

Barack Obama (D)

Obama says universal health care is coming.

"'The time has come for universal health care in America,' Obama said at a conference of Families USA, a health care advocacy group. 'I am absolutely determined that by the end of the first term of the next president, we should have universal health care in this country,'” the Illinois senator said. (Associated Press, 1/25/07)

In May, Obama announced a plan to provide health care for all by 2012. Obama’s plan, according to Newsday, would work within the existing private insurance system but would provide subsidies to help insurance purchasers on a sliding scale. Nearly all employers would be required to share the cost of coverage. Obama would prevent insurers from withholding coverage because of pre-existing conditions; he also would focus on lowering costs by emphasizing preventative coverage and better management of chronic diseases.

 

"The time has come for universal, affordable health care in America.…My plan begins by covering every American. If you already have health insurance, the only thing that will change for you under this plan is that the amount of money you will spend on premiums will be less.…If you are one of 45 million Americans who don't have health insurance, you will after this plan becomes law." (Newsday, 5/29/07)

Obama’s website describes his principles for improving health care quality and reducing costs:

"These include tackling medical inflation and spiraling health care costs, developing new mechanisms to extend portable, affordable coverage, and reforming health care delivery so that it emphasizes prevention and efficiency." (Campaign website) 

Ronald Paul (R)

A medical doctor, Paul largely blames government and what he calls government interference in the private market for rising health care costs. He supports free market approaches to health care reform—such as tax credits and limiting medical malpractice claims—and says health care worked better when paying out of pocket was the norm.

"For decades, the U.S. health care system was the envy of the entire world. Not coincidentally, there was far less government involvement in medicine during this time. America had the finest doctors and hospitals, patients enjoyed high quality, affordable medical care, and thousands of private charities provided health services for the poor. Doctors focused on treating patients, without the red tape and threat of lawsuits that plague the profession today. Most Americans paid cash for basic services, and had insurance only for major illnesses and accidents. This meant both doctors and patients had an incentive to keep costs down, as the patient was directly responsible for payment, rather than an HMO or government program." (The Price of Liberty)