Wall Street Journal Profiles New Hampshire Sen. Sununu's Position On Health Care, Other Issues

Main Category: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance
Also Included In: Public Health
Article Date: 17 Sep 2008 - 6:00 PST

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The Wall Street Journal on Saturday profiled Sen. John Sununu (R-N.H.) -- whose re-election campaign this year "could tell us ... which way the balance of power in Congress will tilt" and "something about the outcome of the presidential contest as well." Sununu has said that the "issues that come up most often on the campaign trail today are the economy, energy and probably health care." According to the Journal, "Sununu believes he's on the right side of all of them."

During a recent campaign event in Newbury, N.H., Sununu said that, although voters seek "change" on health care and other issues, they do not necessarily support a larger role for government. Sununu said that voters "understand that a government takeover of the health care system is highly unlikely to improve efficiency," adding that "we need to make sure everyone in the country has access to affordable health insurance." He said, "We do that by first looking carefully at who goes without insurance," and a "very large number of them work for small businesses."

Sununu cited the need to eliminate barriers to affordable, accessible health care implemented by government. The U.S. should allow small businesses to "pool together in large numbers on a national basis to negotiate better prices" and permit an "individual or a business to purchase a health care policy from anywhere in the country," he said (Carney, Wall Street Journal, 9/13).

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