Monday, March 26, 2007 Election
2008
Democratic Presidential Candidates at Forum All Say
They Support Universal Health Coverage for U.S. Residents
Seven Democratic presidential candidates
appearing at a forum on Saturday promised to work toward universal health
care if elected, the Chicago Tribune reports. Speaking to a crowd
of 1,000 mostly union members at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, the candidates -- Sen.
Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.), Sen. Christopher Dodd (Conn.), former Sen.
John Edwards (N.C.), former Sen. Mike Gravel (Alaska), Rep. Dennis
Kucinich (Ohio), Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) and Gov. Bill Richardson (N.M.)
-- differed on how they would implement universal coverage and whether
they might require additional tax revenue (McCormick, Chicago
Tribune, 3/25). All seven candidates generally agreed that health
care coverage should be universal; more of an investment is needed in
prevention and management of chronic illnesses; the government should
create insurance pools with the purpose of sharing risk and reducing
overall costs; and health records should be electronic, according to the
Las Vegas Sun (Coolican/Mishak, Las
Vegas Sun, 3/25). The forum was sponsored by the Service Employees International
Union and the Center for American Progress Action Fund, and it was
moderated by Karen Tumulty of Time magazine (Balz, Washington Post, 3/25).
Clinton, Edwards and Obama
At the forum, Clinton discussed
government assistance programs similar to Medicare, incentives for
preventive care and a $200 million electronic health record system as ways
to achieve universal health care, adding she wants health care to be "the
No. 1 voting issue in the '08 elections" (Thrush, Long Island Newsday, 3/25). Clinton said that
if health care costs were controlled, there would be enough federal money
remaining to fund universal coverage (Hunter, Chicago Sun-Times, 3/25). On the issue of tax
increases, Clinton said she does not "think we should start with the
position where we say we're going to increase all of these costs by
putting more money into a system that is broken. We have to fix the
system." Edwards -- the only candidate to have offered a specific,
detailed universal health care proposal -- said that he would fund his plan, which would
cost $90 billion to $120 billion annually, by repealing tax cuts for U.S.
residents earning more than $200,000 a year. Edwards said, "I do not
believe you can have universal health care without finding a source of
revenue" (Washington Post, 3/25). Edwards' plans would
mandate that employers provide insurance to their workers or pay into a
fund that would finance coverage for the uninsured (Pear, New York Times, 3/25). Obama said that more
important than an actual plan for universal coverage is whether there is
"the political will and sense of urgency to actually get it done"
(Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 3/25). Obama said that in
the next few months he will be crafting a specific plan for universal
coverage to be implemented by January 2013. Obama added that he supports
the creation of federal and state purchasing pools that would allow
employees to opt out of employer-sponsored health care.
Other Candidates
Dodd said his experience in Congress
building relationships with lawmakers would help him begin work on health
care legislation from the moment he took office. Dodd also said he would
support legislation that would make it easier for nurses to form unions.
Kucinich called for a not-for-profit, single-payer system. Gravel also
supported the idea of a single-payer system and said he would distribute
health care vouchers for U.S. residents to purchase coverage. Richardson
said he would fund his health care improvements -- which would include tax
credits to help people buy coverage and an option for those ages 55 to 64
to purchase Medicare coverage -- by shifting funding from the military to
health care and by "get[ting] out of Iraq" (New York Times,
3/25).
Additional Comments
Edwards said the country needs "big,
bold, dramatic change, not small change" (Barrett, Raleigh News & Observer, 3/25). Edwards,
referring to his wife's recent cancer recurrence, added, "It's not right
that a woman has to go through -- or anyone has to go through -- this kind
of struggle and have to worry about the medicine they need, the health
care that they need. No American should have to worry about that"
(Chicago Tribune, 3/25). Obama said, "I can tell you I will
do whatever it takes" to implement universal health care, adding that "we
shouldn't underestimate the amount of money that can be saved in the
existing system" (Hennessey, AP/Orlando Sentinel, 3/25).
Clinton said that health care reform "will be a series of steps," adding,
"What we have to do is persuade the country." John Podesta, president and
CEO of the Center
for American Progress, said, "We have high hopes that what happens in
Las Vegas will actually leave Las Vegas and set the tone for the entire
presidential campaign" (Chicago Tribune, 3/25). Drew Altman,
president and CEO of the Kaiser Family Foundation, said "The problems are
objectively worse than when we had our last great debate," adding, "We
haven't solved the problems. Year after year, the problem of uninsured
gets a little worse as does the problem of health care costs - and those
problems are coming home to roost," he said (Coolican, Las Vegas Sun, 3/23).