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Health Care Campaign 2008: New Addition Alaska Governor Sarah Palin
Friday Sep 05, 2008
Health Care Campaign 2008: New Addition Alaska Governor Sarah Palin in Politics and Legislation
Even
if you aren’t following the presidential election, you probably heard
about Republican nominee Senator John McCain’s pick for vice
president: Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.
Governor Palin has been touted by Republicans as a
fresh face for Washington, a reformer, and a true conservative — not
to mention that she’s the first female on the Republican presidential
ticket and she would be the first female vice president in American history.
So where does Governor Palin stand when it comes to
health care and health
insurance reform?
Unfortunately, she doesn’t have much of a
health care record.
But from what we’ve researched, Governor
Palin does have a traditional stance toward health care reform as many of her
Republican colleagues.
For one, Palin seems to strongly support increased
competition to reduce health care costs.
In Alaska, new medical facilities can only be
opened if the state decides that the facility is actually needed. Any new
facility needs to obtain a “certificate-of-need.” This
year, Governor Palin fought to get rid of this law so new facilities could freely
open and increase competition in the market.
In an Anchorage Daily News op-ed, Governor Palin quoted
herself, “Under our present Certificate of Need process, costs and
needs don't drive health care choices, bureaucracy does. Our system is broken
and expensive.”
Even though her efforts eventually failed, reported
the Washington Post in a health
care piece on Governor Palin, it suggests the Republican vice-presidential
nominee favors market health care solutions.
Governor Palin also sides with the majority of
Republicans on expanding the State’s Children’s Health
Insurance Program (SCHIP). Legislation was introduced in Alaska this
year to expand SCHIP, but Palin opposed it.
Now that Governor Palin has been introduced on the
national stage, we’d expect to hear about her proposals and thoughts
on health care reform sooner than later.
Comments[0]
Senator Barack Obama and The Single-Payer Health Care System
Tuesday Aug 19, 2008
Senator Barack Obama and The Single-Payer Health Care System in Politics and Legislation
Today, Senator Barack
Obama was talking health care policy on the campaign trail in
Albuquerque, New Mexico.
During a town-hall meeting, according to a Wall Street Journal blog, Senator
Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee said he would support a
single-payer health care system in the U.S. if he could start new.
“If I were designing a system from
scratch, I would probably go ahead with a single-payer [health care] system,”
said Senator Obama.
Such a system would get rid of private health
insurance companies and the government would exclusively run all health care
services.
It would bring universal health care to the U.S.,
which is a goal many Democratic lawmakers share.
Of course, Senator Obama knows he can’t start
from scratch and our current health care system probably couldn’t be
changed to single-payer any time soon.
“[M]y attitude is let’s build
up the system we got, let’s make it more efficient, we may over time,
as we make the system more efficient and everybody’s covered, decide
that there are other ways for us to provide care more effectively,”
explained the Illinois Senator.
So even though we can’t make the move to
a single-payer health care system now, should we in the future?
Comments[0]
Arizona Voters Could Block Universal Health Care Efforts With New Proposition
Monday Aug 18, 2008
Arizona Voters Could Block Universal Health Care Efforts With New Proposition in Politics and Legislation
Come November, universal
health care and universal health insurance plans will be blocked by Arizona
state law… if the voters so choose.
Recently, a petition obtained enough signatures to
put Proposition 101 on the Arizona ballot, which would effectively prohibit any
universal health care programs.
That includes any law which would mandate health care
coverage or health insurance.
As Proposition 101 puts it, any law “that
restricts a person’s freedom of choice of private health-care systems
or private plans of any type,” reported the Arizona Daily Star.
The proposition, likely to be a part of an ongoing
debate, had controversy written all over it before it was even approved for the
November ballot.
When the petition was turned into the Maricopa
County Recorder’s Office, the County Recorder Helen Purcell
determined some of the signatures were invalid.
Purcell based her findings on 22 possible invalid signatures
that the Recorder’s Office checked. Some of these signatures were
dated before the petition came out, some had inconsistent dates with other
signatures on a petition sheet.
But a Maricopa Superior Court Judge ruled that the
petitions were valid, and the Proposition will be up for approval in November.
As a side note, it’s ironic that Arizona,
Senator John
McCain’s home state, is trying to block universal health care
while Senator Barack
Obama’s home state of Illinois
is trying to pass it?
Comments[0]
An Introduction: The Presidential Health Care Campaign 2008
Friday Aug 15, 2008
An Introduction: The Presidential Health Care Campaign 2008 in Politics and Legislation
It’s been a while
since our last post about the 2008 presidential election, but we thought now
was as good time as any to start talking about the health care policies of the
two candidates.
After a
year-long Democratic battle between New York Senator Hillary Clinton and
Illinois Senator Barack Obama, Senator Obama has come out as the presumptive
Democratic nominee.
Arizona
Senator John McCain had an impressive performance for the Republicans, coming
back to win the New Hampshire primary and clinching the nomination after the
political world thought his campaign was all but dead.
But now
that the primary season is in the past, what do our candidates have in store
for the future?
Senator
McCain favors a system where the private market takes control to
drive down prices. He’s even willing to provide a generous tax credit
for individuals and families.
Senator
Obama on the other hand is looking for the government to step in and require
all children have insurance, and put restrictions on the health insurance
companies so they can’t deny anyone coverage.
Obama also
has promised
he can reduce an average American family’s annual health insurance plan
premiums by $2,500.
This was
just an intro to what’s to come in the Presidential Health Care
Campaign of 2008. Over the next few months, we’ll go deeper into the
health care reform plans from Senator McCain and Senator Obama and keep up on the
candidates’ latest health care news.
We also want
to know what you think about each candidate’s health care plan —
the comments section is now open for business.
Comments[2]
New Mexico Governor Calls For Universal Health Insurance For Children
Friday Aug 08, 2008
New Mexico Governor Calls For Universal Health Insurance For Children in Politics and Legislation
New
Mexico Governor Bill Richardson is asking state lawmakers to approve a health
care reform plan which would require all children to have health insurance.
State Legislature will hold a special summer
session starting August 15, where Governor Richardson will push for an
endorsement of the children’s health insurance mandate, reported the
Associated Press and the Las Cruces Sun-News.
The plan would cost an estimated $58 million every
year and provide coverage for over 50,000 children, wrote the article.
Every child up to age 18 would have to have
coverage and prove they are insured when enrolling in school.
The article went on to explain that there would be
no penalty for not having coverage, but the state would keep pushing parents to
get their children insured.
Parents who cannot afford a private health plan for
their children will have access to financial assistance from the state —
either through programs to help them pay for premiums or Medicaid.
“The message to parents is that you need
to get your kids covered, and there [are] lots of options available to do
that," said Pam Hyde, the state Secretary of Human Services.”
Comments[0]
U.S. House Of Representatives Approves “Michelle’s Law”
Thursday Jul 31, 2008
U.S. House Of Representatives Approves “Michelle’s Law” in Politics and Legislation
A new bill recently approved in the U.S. House of
Representatives lets students take medical leave from school and keep their
health insurance.
[Read More]
Comments[0]
FDA May Get Power To Regulate Cigarettes
Thursday Jul 24, 2008
FDA May Get Power To Regulate Cigarettes in Politics and Legislation
A new bill with broad support in Washington D.C.
would give the Food and Drug Administration the authority to regulate
cigarettes. But the White House isn’t on board.
[Read More]
Comments[0]
U.S. House Of Representatives Committee Passes Veterans’ Health Care Bills
Friday Jul 18, 2008
U.S. House Of Representatives Committee Passes Veterans’ Health Care Bills in Politics and Legislation
The Veterans’ Affairs Committee recently approved
a pair of bills that will help veterans living in rural areas and expand mental
health benefits.
[Read More]
Comments[0]
California Bill Would Give State More Power Over Health Insurance Companies
Tuesday Jul 15, 2008
California Bill Would Give State More Power Over Health Insurance Companies in Politics and Legislation
A California measure passed on Monday to give the state more
power to fine health insurance companies who don’t pay physicians’
medical bills.
[Read More]
Comments[0]
Obama Proposes 50 Percent Health Insurance Tax Credit For Small Businesses
Monday Jul 14, 2008
Obama Proposes 50 Percent Health Insurance Tax Credit For Small Businesses in Politics and Legislation
Democratic presidential candidate, Illinois Senator Barack
Obama, over the weekend proposed a plan which would offer tax credits for small
businesses that provide health insurance for their employees.
[
Read More]
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Medicare Bill To Halt Payment Cuts Finally Passes In Senate, Senator Edward Kennedy Votes
Thursday Jul 10, 2008
Medicare Bill To Halt Payment Cuts Finally Passes In Senate, Senator Edward Kennedy Votes in Politics and Legislation
Yesterday, the U.S. Senate passed a stalled bill to prevent
a Medicare payment to doctors with the help of Senator Edward Kennedy’s
vote of approval.
[Read More]
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Portland Considers Universal Health Insurance Coverage For Children
Wednesday Jul 09, 2008
Portland Considers Universal Health Insurance Coverage For Children in Politics and Legislation
Portland,
Oregon city officials recently
passed a resolution to provide universal health insurance coverage for
children… in a couple years.
[Read More]
Comments[0]
Organizations To Spend Big For Health Care Reform
Tuesday Jul 08, 2008
Organizations To Spend Big For Health Care Reform in Politics and Legislation
High-powered organizations are on a quest for universal
health care, and their willing to spend millions pushing their plans.
[Read More]
Comments[0]
California’s Medicaid Program Would Stop Payments For Medical ‘Never Events’ Under New Bill
Monday Jun 30, 2008
California’s Medicaid Program Would Stop Payments For Medical ‘Never Events’ Under New Bill in Politics and Legislation
MediCal, the Medicaid program in California, may stop reimbursing health care
providers who commit medical errors that should never occur.
[Read More]
Comments[0]
New Jersey Governor Includes Funds For Health Insurance Bill In State Budget
Thursday Jun 26, 2008
New Jersey Governor Includes Funds For Health Insurance Bill In State Budget in Politics and Legislation
New Jersey Governor Jon S. Corzine is expected to sign a new
state budget that includes millions for a health coverage expansion bill. But
will it be enough?
[Read More]
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