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October 10, 2007

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How We Can Ensure Universal Health Care for All Americans by Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D., Md.)

The first step we must take to address our nation’s health care ills is to deal with the problem of the 47 million uninsured.We are the richest nation in the world, yet today more than 47 million Americans—9 million of them children—have no health care coverage. The number of uninsured Americans affects all of us through higher medical costs: higher premiums for insurance, higher hospital costs and higher doctors’ bills.

During the course of our lives, we will spend tens of thousands of dollars on health care. This year alone, each American will spend on average $925 in out-of-pocket costs for health care services. As family members, we will face daunting choices about the care of our children, spouses and elderly relatives.

Now is the time to tackle the problem of the uninsured. I have introduced legislation that would require all Americans to have “qualified health coverage” such as employer-provided health insurance, private health coverage, coverage under public programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) or any other qualified health coverage as defined by their state of residence. This is similar to the requirement by states that all drivers have automobile insurance.

My bill, the Universal Health Coverage Act, S. 1899, directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to work with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) to develop three low-cost options for individuals with incomes below 400% of the federal poverty level (FPL). The FPL is currently defined as approximately $20,000 a year for a family of four. That standard was selected because the vast majority of working families with incomes above that level have access to employer-based health insurance or the ability to purchase coverage.

Those who fail to enroll for any coverage for a continuous period greater than 60 days would be required to pay an amount equal to the average monthly premium amount for qualified coverage as defined by the state in which they reside. Funds collected by this tax would then be used to automatically enroll them in a state-approved plan.

This legislation reflects my belief in the need for personal responsibility: namely, that those who have the financial ability to afford health insurance must be required to have it. My proposal also maintains the current employer-based system and protects government-sponsored health programs.

We have the most sophisticated health care in the world, but our system lacks adequate access. My proposal builds on our current system, but also creates low-cost insurance options for families who cannot afford to purchase health care. It also requires those who can afford to purchase health care insurance to do so.

The first step we must take to address our nation’s health care ills is to deal with the problem of the 47 million uninsured. My proposal provides a common-sense approach that will help us move toward that goal.

Election 2008 :: Presidential Candidates On The Road Talk About Health Insurance

Here are the latest news blurbs from each of the presidential candidates on the topic of health care.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.): Clinton last week in Kansas City, Mo., met with more than 50 ministers, mostly from black churches, and discussed her proposal to expand health insurance to all U.S. residents, among other issues, the Kansas City Star reports. She said, "I learned a lot from what we tried to do in '93 and '94. I'm very proud we tried." Clinton added, "There's a great consensus building in the country to try and make some sensible changes" (Helling, Kansas City Star, 10/5). In related news, the AP/Fort Worth Star-Telegram on Saturday examined the validity of a Clinton television advertisement launched last week that claims she "championed" legislation to establish SCHIP in the 1990s. According to the AP/Star-Telegram, although Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) is "widely viewed as the driving force behind the program, by all accounts" Clinton played a "crucial" role in the passage of the bill (Fouhy, AP/Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10/6).

Former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.): Edwards on Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press" dismissed claims that he has changed his position on health care since his 2004 presidential campaign, the Washington Times reports. In 2004, Edwards offered a proposal that would have expanded health insurance to about half of uninsured U.S. residents. His current proposal would expand health insurance to all U.S. residents. Edwards said, "I am exactly the same person I was in 2004," but changes have occurred "both in America and in the world." In addition, Edwards criticized the health care system as "dysfunctional." He said that "these problems cannot be solved with small incremental change" and require "big, bold ideas" (Bellantoni, Washington Times, 10/8). In related news, McClatchy/Miami Herald on Sunday examined how "ridding the nation of poverty," which Edwards has cited as the "cause of his life," only "became a dominant public theme" for him in the "last few years." During his six-year Senate term, Edwards "tended to concentrate on the middle class who needed a boost," such as "people with health insurance who didn't have access to specialty care," McClatchy/Herald reports (Zagaroli, McClatchy/Miami Herald, 10/7).

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (R-Ohio): Kucinich on Sunday at an AFL-CIO convention in Oregon "made fun" of other presidential candidates for "refusing to stand up" to health insurers that are "driving health care into the ground," the Oregonian reports. Kucinich said, "Somebody's running for president of the U.S., and they're saying they can't take on the insurance companies?" He added, "If you can't take on the insurance companies, who else can't you take on?" (Har, Oregonian, 10/8).

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.): Obama on Friday during a speech at a northern Iowa community college said that as president he would improve health care and eliminate delays in disability claims for veterans, the AP/Star-Telegram reports. Obama, a member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, proposed to hire more staff to process disability claims and establish electronic health records for veterans. "As president, I won't stand for hundreds of thousands of veterans waiting for benefits," he said, adding, "When a veteran is denied health care, we're all dishonored. ... When 400,000 veterans are stuck on a waiting list for claims, we need a new sense of urgency in this country" (Lorentzen, AP/Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10/6). In related news, Obama on Saturday in Ottawa, Ill., told United Auto Workers members that health care will not receive proper attention as long as the war in Iraq continues (AP/Winston-Salem Journal, 10/7).

Former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.): Thompson last week in Iowa said he supports a reduction of the Medicare prescription drug benefit as part of a series of reforms to the program, the Wall Street Journal reports. Thompson said that he would not have voted to establish the Medicare prescription drug benefit. He said, "I know this probably isn't a real popular thing to say, but we couldn't afford this prescription drug bill. We basically put a $72 trillion commitment on top of an already-broken entitlement system." According to the Journal, the "politically risky" proposal may "endear him to fiscal conservatives," but "it isn't clear how that will play" among seniors (Schatz, Wall Street Journal, 10/8).

SEIU Endorsement

Service Employees International Union officials on Monday announced that the union will not endorse a presidential candidate and will allow state chapters to make individual endorsements, the AP/Contra Costa Times reports. After state SEIU chapters endorse a presidential candidate, union activists from those states cannot campaign in states in which union chapters have endorsed a different candidate.

SEIU Secretary Treasurer Anna Burger said, "Any one of these candidates would help create a new American dream for workers and their families." According to the AP/Times, the decision by SEIU not to endorse a presidential candidate is an "especially painful blow" to Edwards, the candidate most likely to receive the endorsement (Holland, AP/Contra Costa Times, 10/9).

AARP Survey About 99% of Democratic AARP members who likely will participate in the Iowa caucuses consider health care as somewhat important or very important in their decision on which presidential candidate to support, but almost 30% of those members lack adequate information about the positions of the candidates on the issue, according to a recent survey commissioned by the group, the Des Moines Register reports. The telephone survey, conducted between Sept. 24 and Sept. 26 by Woelfel Research, included responses from more than 500 Democratic AARP members who had participated in any of the Iowa caucuses since 1988 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.

Jeffrey Love, national research director for AARP, said, "I've seen a lot of national polling on this," adding, "Health care is clearly the number two issue after the war, but the war is constant"(Forgrave, Des Moines Register, 10/9).

Universal Health Insurance

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) on Sunday at the 2007 Cerner Health Conference in Kansas City, Mo., said that the U.S. can "provide affordable health care for every American in intelligent ways," provided that voters "cut through the snake oil," the Star reports. According to Kerry, although opponents of universal health insurance proposals maintain that a single-payer system would limit the choices of residents, none of the proposals from the major Democratic presidential candidates would establish such a system. Kerry added, "We've got to make sure we fight back against a bunch of special interests that put their bottom line ahead of the bottom line of the country" (Karash, Kansas City Star, 10/7).

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