[All information from newspaper article "Health Care Reform to be force in the 2008 Election," Salina Journal, Vol. 137 Issue 259, 16 Sept 2007]
"It's been 14 years since first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton's health care reform plan sank like a stone, swallowed by fears of a big-government power grab."
However, over the years, health care reform has once again become a major issue of which candidates and voters alike are taking notice.
"Polls indicate health coverage ranks high with voters as a concern and that people are willing to pay higher taxes to ensure those without coverage get it."
Surprisingly, two-thirds of Americans actually supported universal coverage funded by the government, but that seems to be a "last resort" option when factors such as how it would work and how much it would cost are considered. Even Democrats are toning it down a bit when it comes to this topic, not wanting to alienate potential voters by proposing radical changes.
However, both major parties are still taking slightly different stances on the issue.
"Democratic candidates argue it is the government's job to make sure everyone has health insurance they cannot lose."
[Very reassuring for poor college kids like me who, at the moment, have no health coverage to speak of.]
"Republicans are pushing more limited incentives and subsidies to help people obtain affordable coverage."
[So that we're helping people get coverage who need it without doing a complete overhaul of the system, so that those who are happy with their coverage can keep it.]
Hillary herself is confident that "we're going to get it done this time."
The biggest change that I personally have seen this year in the health care debate is that instead of idealizing and tossing around a bunch of "what-if's," the candidates are actually buckling down and creating strategies that CAN work and not only that but they are LISTENING to the desires of the American people.
Both parties, in short, are working toward the same goal: affordable coverage for everyone while steering clear of the touchy topic of socialized medicine.
I am personally willing to do whatever it takes so that those that need it can have affordable health care, and those that already have it are still satisfied with what they have. However, I think that any steps that are taken need to be done gradually, and I also agree with the majority of candidates who are steering clear of 100% socialized medicine, because not only would it be a complete shock to the status quo, overall it would not be met well with most middle- and upper-class Americans.
You're absolutely right. I read another article in the New York Times that (very generally speaking) Clinton has majorly revised her old plan in the early nineties. This might be just a fantasy, but her team is toting the fact that their new plan won't inhibit anyone that actually likes their plan (two percent of the country, my personal statistic) to not have to change, and her last plan had a huge bureaucratic mess that no one wanted to deal with. I don't know what's wrong and what's right for health care right now, but I know that my birth control is going to go up to about thirty dollars a month (from three dollars), my teeth sometimes kill me, my glasses cost me two hundred bucks and if I have cancer I wouldn't know it until I died.
all of that goes for me too. i dont have any kind of insurance anymore, and i have braces but luckily thats all already paid for thanks to my dad, otherwise i'd have ugly teeth for years and years before i could afford to have them fixed myself.
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Are Liberals Smarter Than Conservatives?
It is a lot of work to do for the next president. Where do you think is a good start?
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http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/tiffany-southall
Tiffany Southall signing out by keeping you up-to-date.
i think a great place to start would be with college students, like me, who get dumped off of their parents insurance (anywhere between ages 18 and 22), and don't have the money to get their own coverage.
also, i think that companies that make a certain amount in profits per year should be required to provide their employees with basic medical and dental coverage, so that more American families can have affordable coverage.
wow, maybe I should run for President! haha!
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Are Liberals Smarter Than Conservatives?
I don't know if they are just a scapegoat or not, but I've always been led to believe (mostly by the media) that a lot of the fault lies with the actual insurance companies, and that when regular companies/businesses like Bob's Fish and Tackle Superstore have a lot of employees they can't afford to extend coverage to their employees through an insurance company.
you're absolutely right. but the issue is that right now there aren't alot of rules set in place by the federal government to regulate insurance company policies and prices, so the only thing driving the market is the competition between the different companies, causing the prices to get jacked up so much that a large percentage of Americans can't afford it. And thats the issue that the next President is going to have to address, especially with the idea of socialized medicine swimming all around us, we have to come up with a solution that won't alienate the average American citizen.
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Are Liberals Smarter Than Conservatives?
"I pity the fool!"