The Candidates on Healthcare

I went through Clinton's and Obama's health care issues pages this evening. Also, they're not so far apart here either. They address a lot of the same issues -- covering the uninsured, AIDS, autism, cancer). They also both offer people the option of getting the same plan that members of Congress have.

Ultimately, to me, Hillary's plan is slightly better, because it makes participation mandatory. But neither is anywhere near single-payer (UPDATE: Kossack Partially Impartial explains why this is important) (UPDATE 2: The Urban Institute releases a paper concluding the same).

Also, as nyceve, one of the better Daily Kos diarists, makes a really good point -- Health care costs are skyrocketing, and neither candidate really gives us much of an indication of what people should expect to pay, other than Obama saying that families will save "up to $2,500" per year."

Running an organization, I find that we spend over $6,000 per year on health insurance per employee, and it goes up close to 20% every year. For people insuring themselves, it's approaching $10,000 per year. How long can that continue? Single payer is the only answer, but it's not even on the table.

Next issue...

Labels: 2008 Election, 2008 Primaries, Barack Obama, Democratic Party, Hillary Clinton, Politics

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