Opinion Pieces Examine Bush, Kerry Heath Proposals
Recent opinion pieces address Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry (Mass.) and President Bush's health care reform plans.
- Cynthia Tucker, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Neither President Bush nor Kerry can stop "the dramatic transformation taking place in the economy" under which businesses are looking overseas to find workers in part to avoid paying employees' health insurance costs, Tucker, an editorial page editor, writes in an opinion piece. However, a "capable president would certainly tackle the health care crisis" in the United States, she states. Tucker cites a labor report released in July that found that fewer jobs had been created recently than economists had expected. Additionally, many newly created jobs were in the retail or service industries, which typically do not provide health insurance. Tucker states, "That shift will continue no matter what laws are passed, tax loopholes are closed or trade barriers built." However, she adds, "The surging cost of health care is now a huge drag on economic expansion." Tucker concludes that whatever Bush or Kerry "promise about an improving economy, not much will change without a major overhaul of health care" (Tucker, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 8/22).
- Kerry, Charleston Gazette: Fixing the U.S. health care system should be the first step toward fixing the nation's economy, which is "slowed by soaring health care costs," as businesses find that "the price of health care is rising beyond their ability to balance the books, invest in new business plans or provide the quality of care they want for their workers," Kerry writes in a Gazette opinion piece. He says that the United States "can't afford to have the rising cost of health care closing factories and plants that provided good jobs and quality health care to their workers for decades if it wants to become "stronger at home," adding that no "business should ever have to compromise on health care coverage to stay competitive." Kerry says that several of his health care reform proposals could help lessen the burden of rising health care costs. For instance, Kerry writes that his proposal to reimburse businesses for 75% of the cost of catastrophic care would lower premiums by up to $1,000 for workers and help lower the cost of health coverage for businesses. In addition, Kerry says that his plan to provide small business with tax credits to help them offer health insurance to low- and moderate-income employees would expand coverage. He writes that he also would give care providers incentives to adopt technology, which could allow patients to "spend more time with doctors and less time filling out forms." The United States should take "common sense steps" to reduce medical malpractice insurance premiums, including requiring certification of lawsuits' merits, punishing frivolous lawsuits and improving regulation of insurers' business practices, Kerry writes. "It's time we started to fix our economy, by finally fixing our health care system," Kerry concludes (Kerry, Charleston Gazette, 8/23).
- Steven Findlay, USA Today: Although both Bush and Kerry "acknowledge that rapidly rising health care costs in the United States are deeply troubling," neither "has proposed a serious plan to tackle the problem," Findlay, a health policy analyst, writes in a USA Today opinion piece. So far, the candidate's campaign speeches lack details of how the United States will pay for health care reform at a time "when rising costs are fast becoming the economic equivalent of an insidiously worsening chronic disease," Findlay says. Although Bush has had the opportunity to address the "intertwined issues of cost and the uninsured," both the number of uninsured and health costs have "risen" during his time in office, according to Findlay. He calls Bush's cost-control proposals -- capping damage awards in malpractice cases and allowing small business to band together to negotiate lower insurance rates -- "marginal." While Kerry's plan to expand health coverage "is bolder" and would lower insurance premiums, its estimated cost is $650 billion over 10 years, Findlay writes. To pay for the plan, Kerry wants to repeal some of the tax cuts Bush implemented -- a "tough goal politically" -- and also is counting on "unrealistic savings" from his promotion of health technology and disease-management programs, according to Findlay. He concludes that Kerry's plan is superior if "health care is your top concern" but adds that "[m]eaningful health care reform simply can't happen in this country without bringing costs under control" (Findlay, USA Today, 8/24).
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