Democratic candidates share views on health care

Presidential hopefuls focus on cost control, not just insurance access, in their proposals.

By Doug Trapp, AMNews staff. June 18, 2007.

Washington -- Three of the leading Democratic presidential candidates have made health system reform an early campaign priority.

Sen. Barack Obama (D, Ill.) and former Sen. John Edwards (D, N.C.) have unveiled comprehensive plans for increasing the number of insured Americans and addressing rising health care costs.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D, N.Y.) is developing a three-part plan, the first of which focuses largely on controlling costs, and was released last month. The rest of her proposal, including ideas for expanding insurance access, is expected in coming months.

All three plans share certain themes, such as expanded health information technology, better preventive care and health insurance industry reform. As for access, all would build on the existing employer-sponsored health insurance system, instead of dismantling it the way the single-payer proposal of fellow candidate Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D, Ohio) would.

Health policy analysts said the similarities between the plans are significant, as is the fact that the three leading candidates had unveiled health care platforms early in their campaigns.

"Having a plan for universal coverage is the price of admission into the Democratic primaries," said Paul Ginsburg, PhD, president of the Center for Studying Health System Change, a non-partisan health care research organization.

However, it's too early to devote too much attention to the plans' details because most Republican candidates have yet to join the health care discussion, said Drew Altman, president and CEO of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a non-partisan health care research organization. While Democrats tend to favor expanding access with the help of public programs, Republicans are more likely to favor health savings accounts and other consumer choice measures.