The Policy Debate Ahead

Presidential Candidates Outline Health Care Agendas

Hillary Clinton
(D-NY)

• Supports an individual health insurance mandate with federal tax credits for those who can't afford health insurance.
• Proposes that large businesses be required to provide or help pay for employee coverage and that small businesses with fewer than 25 employees be given a refundable tax credit to continue or begin offering coverage.
• The $110 billion per year plan would be paid for by eliminating the Bush tax cuts for those earning more than $250,000 a year.

• Proposes a 7-step strategy to reduce health costs, including a paperless health IT system.

• Proposes a 7-step strategy to reduce health costs, including a national prevention initiative.

• Not stated in the platform.

• Proposes "smart purchasing" initiatives to constrain prescription drug and managed care expenditures, including setting drug prices through Medicare negotiations, limiting direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs, and changing patent laws to increase the availability of generic drugs.

• Not stated in the platform.

Barack Obama
(D-IL)

• Supports a national health insurance program for people who do not have employer-provided health care and who do not qualify for other existing federal programs. Would mandate health insurance coverage for children but not for adults.
• Would require employers that do not provide health coverage for employees to pay into his proposed national health insurance program.
• The plan's $50 billion to $65 billion price tag would be paid for by discontinuing Bush's tax cuts for those earning more than $250,000 a year..

• Proposes investing $50 billion toward adopting electronic medical records and other health IT.

• Would improve provider coordination and integration of care. .

• Would improve transparency by requiring hospitals and providers to collect and publicly report measures of health care costs and quality. Health plans would be required to disclose the percentage of premiums that go to patient care compared with administrative costs.

• Would initiate policies to promote generic drugs, allow drug reimportation, and repeal the ban on direct price negotiations between Medicare and drug companies.

• Not stated in the platform.

John McCain
(R-AZ)

• Opposes a national health insurance mandate.
• Supports allowing small businesses and the self-employed to purchase insurance through organizations or associations. Supports health care tax dividends for low-income earners and the expanded use of health savings accounts (HSAs).
• Proposes reforming the tax code to eliminate the bias toward employer-sponsored health insurance and would provide all individuals with a $2,500 tax credit ($5,000 for families) to increase incentives to purchase insurance. Individuals owning innovative multiyear policies that cost less than the amount of the full tax credit could deposit the remainder into an HSA.

• Not stated in the platform.

• Not stated in the platform..

• Supports increased transparency, including requiring providers and drug companies to offer information about medical outcomes, quality of care, costs, and prices..

• Calls for better access to generic drugs, including those imported from overseas.

• Supports medical liability reform that includes safe harbors for practices within clinical guidelines and safety  protocols.

Login to view/submit comments.