Health Care 'Great Unfinished Business Of 20th Century,' Sen. Kerry Writes In Opinion Piece

Main Category: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance
Article Date: 27 Aug 2008 - 9:00 PDT

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"Today, quality health care for all stands alone as the great unfinished business of 20th century progressive social legislation," and "we must now realize that our failed health care system is not just a moral challenge -- it's a major economic liability, too," Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) writes in an opinion piece in The Hill. According to Kerry, the "Democratic platform reflects the reality that making affordable, meaningful health care a right for all -- not a privilege for some -- is essential to our economic future."

The U.S. spends $2 trillion on health care annually, but 47 million residents lack health insurance, Kerry writes, adding, "While leaving millions of Americans uninsured might seem to save money, the inefficient care that the uninsured do receive taxes the entire health care system and economy," and results in a "destructive dynamic in which high costs lead to more uninsured Americans and more uninsured Americans contribute to higher costs."

In response, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) and other Democrats have proposed to guarantee that "every American has access to an affordable health plan that's portable and just as good as the one their member of Congress has," and to "attack cost by modernizing health care delivery, reducing waste, investing in information technology and controlling the cost of catastrophic illness," according to Kerry. He writes, "That is our plan -- rooted in a deep understanding of our current health care system, a belief in smart policy that emphasizes the convergence of economic self-interest and shared responsibility, and reflective of years spent listening to the American people."

Meanwhile, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) "has dusted off George Bush's so-called 'ownership society' -- and claimed it as his own" -- and his health care plan "could force 160 million Americans to give up their current group health insurance and instead use an insufficient tax break to purchase a new individual plan in a market that regularly discriminates against the sick and the elderly," Kerry writes (Kerry, The Hill, 8/25).

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

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