Dennis Kucinich

Dennis Kucinich has served as the U.S. Representative from Ohio since 1996. Kucinich was also the mayor of Cleveland from 1977 to 1979. He was born on October 8, 1946 in Cleveland, Ohio.

Congressman Kucinich's Health Care Plan

Dennis Kucinich advocates a single-payer, government-controlled health care system. Under Congressman Kucinich's plan there will be universal health care for all Americans. He would abolish all private health insurance.

Medicare For All

Kucinich co-authored H.R. 676, also known as the Medicare For All bill. This bill would implement a single-payer health care system. Over 80 other members of Congress in the U.S. House of Representatives have co-sponsored Kucinich's Medicare For All legislation.

"Is health care a right or is it a privilege?" asked Congressman Kucinich. "If it's a right then it's appropriate for the government to have a role. If it's a privilege, then we're left to the predations of the market – if you can't pay for it, you're out of luck."

Funding

To finance the universal health care plan, Kucinich would raise the payroll tax for Medicare, increase taxes on stock transactions, and up the taxes on the highest-earning Americans.

He also said that the government would buy private health insurance companies out.

"Where there is a conversion of a for-profit institution to not-for-profit, there would be a market-value compensation," explained Kucinich.

Sources

Dennis for President: A Healthy Nation
http://www.dennis4president.com/go/issues/a-healthy-nation/

Wall Street Journal Health Blog: Kucinich: Abolish Private Insurance
http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2007/10/25/kucinich-abolish-private-insurance/

GovTrack: H.R. 676: Text of Legislation
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h109-676

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