Clinton unveils health care plan
Clinton unveiled her universal healthcare plan Monday.
DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) - Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton announced a $110 billion health care reform plan Monday that would require all Americans to have health insurance.
Clinton unveiled her plan during a high-profile speech at a hospital in the key campaign state of Iowa, surrounded by supporters, American flags and campaign banners.
"Here in America people are dying because they couldn't get the care they needed when they were sick."
"I'm here today because I believe it is long past time that this nation had an answer," Clinton said. "I believe America is ready for change."
"It's time to provide quality affordable health care for every American," Clinton said. "And I intend to be the president who accomplishes that goal finally for our country."
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Personally I think her plan can work. As for the money to pay for this plan..simple...our government must stop sending our money out of this country and start investing in its citizens well being. The pharmacutical and insurance companies, and the AMA most likely have their heads together right now planning a smear campaign against Hillary. They did it before and I am sure they will do it again. I worked in the medical field for years and the volumn of hate mail and stop Hillary mail that came from the above companies was just unbelieveable...the cost of their smear campaign alone would have paid for Hillary's proposed health care plan. As far as the republican response to Hillary's proposed plan..well...we all know what that will be. I never met a republican yet who cared about anything but big business.
So Hillary is talking about saving people's lives while Rudy and Mitt are talking about dollars and how expensive it might be.
Guess who has what priorities has now been starkly clarified.
Farran from Wilmington makes good points on several levels.
The form of the plan surprised me, but it is hard to believe it is such big news. I also have a 'cadillac' health plan, but as far as paying through the nose, my plan costs 190 dollars less per person than the Senator's (assuming 110 billion / 46 million uninsured).
Mitt Romney has already done on a state scale what Sen. Clinton proposes doing on a national scale. The numbers used there show that requiring the insurance and purchasing it for those of modest means is less expensive than the cost to the state/hospitals of covering the emergency room family practitioner.
The reform is long overdue, but the most overdue reform is in the area of malparactice suits. A well intentioned doctor acting in good faith and trying to do what is best for the patient can lose EVERYTHING because of one honest mistake.
Indeed, mistakes on this scale have far reaching implications, but if there is no malice intended, why should the 'offender' be punished so harshly. I'm glad that type of perfection isn't expected of me.
Since lawyers have been allowed to use irrelevant "evidence" in trials to acquire the fortunes of doctors (and/or their insurance carriers, e.g. Sen. Edwards) the number of 'required' tests for a condition have become legion. These unnecessary tests basically being used to just 'cover the bases' add dramatically to healthcare costs.
I was surprised to see tort reform mentioned in the Clinton plan, I don't know why she hadn't worked on legislation while a Senator to enact similar measures (hence, my problem with her "experience and leadership").
I have stated in this forum before that I am not a fan of the Senator, but must objectively state this plan could be a workable solution. The problem is that it's nothing new. I and colleagues have felt using public funds to augment the acquisition of insurance for underprivileged is the best way to tackle this problem. We have held this belief for YEARS. I caution the 'HillRaisers' on this forum to refrain from applauding the Senator for being a brilliant and gifted innovator that is showing her experience well when she simply signed-on to a "7-step" plan that is a totally obvious and market based solution.
Have a great Monday,
I don't even know why she bothers. Her healthcare plan is dead on arrival if the very anti-Clinton Republicans in Congress have anything to do with it. Believe me, they will even if they're in the minority.
Obama, however has a chance to work with the Republicans in Congress to achieve consensus and actually create reforms in healthcare coverage.
Charlie Porter from Kelowna, BC, Canada wrote:
"How Americans deal with having to pay for their health is beyond me."
I know! It's crazy! Would you actually believe they make us pay for our own food, clothing and shelter here, too? The audacity of those eeeeeeevil Republicans!
I can't wait until we enact "Single Payer Cable TV," too.
Five hundred channels of HD digital entertainment on a 90-in flat panel display ISN'T a commodity! It's a RIGHT!
Hillary's health insurance plan...and Obama's and Romney's and every one else's is not socialized medicine. It's a boondogle for the Insurance industry. It does not eliminate health insurance...it expands it. The very same companies that are raking in record profits, while denying coverage and refusing to pay on claims, will rake in even greater profits under these plans. Meanwhile, the more of the health insurance burden that you put on businesses, the more jobs will be shipped overseas to countries with universal health care. The already staggering cost of health insurance paid by US businesses, causes stagnant wages, lower employment and more jobs moved to other countries. And many Americans believe that our system is soooo much better than the rest of the civilized world. Someday, the US will join the rest of the industrialized world and provide true universal health care for all of it's citizens. When a candidate start discussing real change in health care, that's the candidate that gets my vote.
$110 Billion to pay for this. You have to be kidding me. It is going to cost more than that. Also every American is going to pay for this in one form or another.
The other issue is, even if she is elected President, will this plan even pass Congress? Doubtful.
Sure the Clintons promised health care during their 2 terms in office, however, Republicans controlled Congress and shot down every idea the Clintons had. Now, Dems control Congress and that excuse for a president is shooting down everything they come up with. When Clinton wins, there will be a Dem in the white house and Dems controlling Congress. Things will finally get done in this country.
So Hillary takes many months to cut and paste from other candidates healthcare plans and this makes headlines? She truly looks like she is convinced that her ideas are original. That is downright frightening. What is more frightening is that CNN and others post her regurgitated plan as headline news, and many uninformed voters might actually think that it sounds good. Add to this her failed attempts in the past, in large part due to her inability to build consensus, and you have another formula for failure. The icing on the cake is the huge amount of money taken from the health insurance lobby who are more than happy to wink as they figure out how they will manipulate her into failure this time.
I like the Obama plan. It doesn't fix the parts that are not broken, it is more affordable, more attainable, and can be achieved by the end of his first term in office. No need to throw the baby out with the bath water. Some aspects of our healtcare system work very well.
Rock on Hillary. The Republican answer to the healthcare system is let the markets take care of it, let the states deal with it. Well that is fine if you are a pharmaceutical executive or if you live in New York. Here in Tennessee, our own state government can not get their act together to make sure the hundreds of thousands of poor are given the healthcare they deserve, it IS our government's job at the federal level to correct these problems!! Congrats Hillary. There are flaws in each candidates plan, but any step towards change is change for the better, those who think the system work fine now obviously have never had to pay hospital bills from their pocket. Hospitals can not afford to care for the sick because they are too busy paying huge insurance companies ungodly amounts of money over paperwork errors made inside the hospitals and doctor's offices. Lets find a way to clean this system up starting with Hillary!
If I understand this plan, it says in simplicity "You buy health insurance now and if it is too expensive for you, the government will reimburse you when you file taxes."
This does nothing to the fact that health insurance is overpriced. In fact it encourages more overpricing because insurance will be required. No longer do prices need to be set to entice people. This is a recipe for insurance collusion.
Further, the people who can not afford heath insurance are not budgeting over the course of a year. They do not have the option to say I will spend the money now because I will get it back in April. They still will not have insurance only now that will be illegal. What is the punishment for people who still "choose" not to be covered?
Honestly, the theory is good; as more people buy something the price should go down. However, Supply/Demand does not work when one is forced to buy the product. Get out of the theory books and into the real world.
This plan is good for insurance companies and bad for the American people.
"Anybody but Bush '04; anybody but Clinton '08"
I want the same health plan that neo-progressives are getting, you know the cabal, Clinton, Kerry, Kennedy, Reid and Pelosi, their's is FREE and for a LIFETIME.
Make that mandatory Shrillary.
We can use Hsu's 850 thousand as the first downpayment, a retainer.
If Clintons Health wins approval, there will be a flood of immigrants from Mexico to take advantage of this largess.She better have a plan !!!
This is not in defense of Hillary's specific plan, but anyone who does not believe that the current plan has to change is living with their heads burried in the sand. There are millions of Americans with no coverage, no Medicare, no Medical Card (welfare) no healthy families plan, nothing. People who work but aren't provided insurance at work and cannot afford the ridiculously inflated prices of private health insurance.
All you have to do to see that the current system is federally approved robbery is look at your next insurance statement. Take a look at what it costs to draw your blood, as opposed to what the insurance pays to do it. Look at your lab costs as opposed to what the insurance companies pay for it. Now, keep in mind, that the way the system is currently arranged, the poorest people are the ones who have to pay the highest cost. How is that appropriate?!?
And the numbers we hear about the uninsured don't even begin to include the vastly underinsured who can only afford hospitalization or "emergency" insurance but pay for all their preventative medicine out of pocket.
Someone mentioned that foreign leaders and diplomats come to the US for healthcare because it is the best in the world... And I guess that is what the opponents of this discussion want: only the richest and best connected receiving health care at all. Maybe if we don't fix the problem, all those pesky poor people will just die off and there won't be a problem anymore.
Please, wake up and remember that we are America – the American dream should include simple things that care for cancer patients and kids being able to get their broken bones fixed!
Universal healthcare sounds good on paper and in big bold print, but it will never be feasible unless America changes it's capitalist system. Of course that will never happen. So, what we need is a more practical balance.
How interesting it is Clinton doesn't release her plans until AFTER Edwards and Obama releases theirs.
$110B? Who's going to end up paying for that? Us! Let's cut wasteful spending first, like the Iraq War.
Universal healthcare in America's current society is just another ploy to get votes from those who don't bother to think the topic through. Same as "LOWER TAXES". Everybody wants lower taxes and more personal liberty, but then who's going to pay for the stuff that keeps our country running?
Gravel might be right. Maybe America is getting fat and stupid.
yes, we need an answer to high cost of health services, but NO the answer isn 't to hand it over to the federal government ! Congress can't even get done the job for which they were elected – they spend most of their time wrangling over political differences and holding "hearings" – why are THEY best qualified to manage my health?
To Eric from Texas,
---–
"Charlie Porter from Kelowna, BC, Canada wrote:
"How Americans deal with having to pay for their health is beyond me."
I know! It's crazy! Would you actually believe they make us pay for our own food, clothing and shelter here, too? The audacity of those eeeeeeevil Republicans!
I can't wait until we enact "Single Payer Cable TV," too.
Five hundred channels of HD digital entertainment on a 90-in flat panel display ISN'T a commodity! It's a RIGHT!"
---–
The immaturity of that response is almost palpable. It only served to further illustrate just how brainwashed some of the American population has become on this issue, Eric. How you can make the leap from health care to clothing and food? It's almost laughable.
You clearly don't understand the differences between the different health systems of the world.
To outline one key difference, consider this scenario:
You've just broken your arm. It doesn't matter how- the point is that you've got a broken limb. You go to the nearest hospital and before a doctor there can help you, they have to consult first with your insurance company. In many cases, if you so much as had a flu or the chicken pox years earlier, the care for your arm may not be covered. Excuse me for being blunt, but that's INSANITY!
And that's just a very basic, simple example. My friend from the south, let me say this: there is a very good reason why people who travel to the United States buy traveler's health insurance from their own country before they visit yours.
But then, you're stance is coming from the state that gave this world the pleasure of being graced with George Bush Jr.'s presence for nearly a decade so I wouldn't imagine you to be very open minded, let alone informed.
Eric, do some research. Travel to other countries and ask questions... you'll be shocked by what you find. It's not a giant communist conspiracy that Cuba is rated higher in terms of health care than the US.