Spring Break
Presidential Hopefuls Layout Plans for Health Care
Derek Turner, 2LE
Issue date: 1/1/01 Section: Politics
January 2008
One of the key issues in this year’s presidential election is the ever-increasing cost of health care. According to the Agency for Healthcare, Research, and Quality, a group within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the mean cost for the average hospital stay in 2005 was more than $22,000. Meanwhile, the average household income in the U.S. is only about $48,000, leaving any family without meaningful health insurance to defray the costs in potential financial ruin.
Statistics show that nearly 47 million Americans currently have no health insurance.
On a micro level, The Commentator’s recent online survey of SW students found that 18 percent of the male and 24 percent of the female students who responded do not have coverage.
For those who are uninsured, affordability and complexity of the process are often cited as the primary deterrents to purchasing coverage. Jessica Munoz (2L) explained why she currently does not have insurance.
“I was on my mom’s coverage, but then I turned 25 and was cut off. Right now I don’t have the money to pay for insurance, and besides that, it is such an insurmountable task to research all of the plans out there.”
Munoz, though, does plan to complete her research and purchase coverage once she receives her financial aid check.
There is also a percentage of the uninsured that can afford coverage, but choose not to purchase it. These individuals are typically young, healthy, and employed by companies that do not offer coverage or pay a significant portion of health insurance costs.
The leading Democraticpresidential candidates have all adopted health care reform as a rally cry for their campaign and put forward universal health care proposals. Each of thei plans calls for a public insurance program that Americans would pay into through taxes and a mandate that all children have health Insurance.
However, the candidates’ proposals do diverge with regards to mandating coverage for adults. While Sens. John Edwards and Hillary Clinton argue that a plan without mandates would leave millions of citizens without health insurance, Sen. Barack Obama contends that once coverage is affordable, people will actively acquire it without government enforcement.
At the other end of the
spectrum, the Republican pool of presidential candidates suggest that a free-market, single-payer system is the best strategy to reduce the costs for American families.
At the Jan. 5 debate in New Hampshire, Sen. John McCain argued that if inflation can be controlled and reduced, then health care would be affordable and government-sponsored insurance would not be necessary. One of McCain’s rivals, Mitt Romney, believes that the health care law developed and passed during his time as Massachusetts’ governor should be modified and implemented on a state-by-state basis. The Massachusetts law requires that all state residents purchase health insurance or face a financial penalty. While this plan does provide tax breaks, individuals do not pay into a government-run program.
The other Republican candidates, including Mayor Rudy Giulani, Sen. Fred Thompson, and Iowa Caucus winner Gov. Mike Huckabee, warn against any government intervention in the arena of health insurance that is not a tax break or reduction.
As the campaigns continue, it is likely that health care will remain at the forefront of the national conversation and on the minds of Southwestern students
One of the key issues in this year’s presidential election is the ever-increasing cost of health care. According to the Agency for Healthcare, Research, and Quality, a group within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the mean cost for the average hospital stay in 2005 was more than $22,000. Meanwhile, the average household income in the U.S. is only about $48,000, leaving any family without meaningful health insurance to defray the costs in potential financial ruin.
Statistics show that nearly 47 million Americans currently have no health insurance.
On a micro level, The Commentator’s recent online survey of SW students found that 18 percent of the male and 24 percent of the female students who responded do not have coverage.
For those who are uninsured, affordability and complexity of the process are often cited as the primary deterrents to purchasing coverage. Jessica Munoz (2L) explained why she currently does not have insurance.
“I was on my mom’s coverage, but then I turned 25 and was cut off. Right now I don’t have the money to pay for insurance, and besides that, it is such an insurmountable task to research all of the plans out there.”
Munoz, though, does plan to complete her research and purchase coverage once she receives her financial aid check.
There is also a percentage of the uninsured that can afford coverage, but choose not to purchase it. These individuals are typically young, healthy, and employed by companies that do not offer coverage or pay a significant portion of health insurance costs.
The leading Democraticpresidential candidates have all adopted health care reform as a rally cry for their campaign and put forward universal health care proposals. Each of thei plans calls for a public insurance program that Americans would pay into through taxes and a mandate that all children have health Insurance.
However, the candidates’ proposals do diverge with regards to mandating coverage for adults. While Sens. John Edwards and Hillary Clinton argue that a plan without mandates would leave millions of citizens without health insurance, Sen. Barack Obama contends that once coverage is affordable, people will actively acquire it without government enforcement.
At the other end of the
spectrum, the Republican pool of presidential candidates suggest that a free-market, single-payer system is the best strategy to reduce the costs for American families.
At the Jan. 5 debate in New Hampshire, Sen. John McCain argued that if inflation can be controlled and reduced, then health care would be affordable and government-sponsored insurance would not be necessary. One of McCain’s rivals, Mitt Romney, believes that the health care law developed and passed during his time as Massachusetts’ governor should be modified and implemented on a state-by-state basis. The Massachusetts law requires that all state residents purchase health insurance or face a financial penalty. While this plan does provide tax breaks, individuals do not pay into a government-run program.
The other Republican candidates, including Mayor Rudy Giulani, Sen. Fred Thompson, and Iowa Caucus winner Gov. Mike Huckabee, warn against any government intervention in the arena of health insurance that is not a tax break or reduction.
As the campaigns continue, it is likely that health care will remain at the forefront of the national conversation and on the minds of Southwestern students
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