Hillary Clinton
U.S. Senator (D-N.Y.)
Did you know? Clinton's husband had quadruple bypass heart surgery in 2004.
Healthcare Reform:
Require everyone to have coverage
Solving the health care crisis "is key to ensuring American competitiveness in the global marketplace." Rx: Require everyone to have insurance through employers or private policies, with government subsidies and tax credits to help lower-income groups afford coverage. Require big employers to cover workers; provide incentives to small businesses to cover theirs. Create marketplace where anyone can buy coverage similar to or better than the plan covering federal employees. Require insurers to cover preventive care, wellness services and chronic disease management. See PoliGraph for this issue >
The Uninsured:
Require citizens to enroll in private or public plans
Clinton plans to allow people to keep coverage they like, to choose from many of the same private plans offered to members of Congress, or to enroll in public plans such as Medicare. All would be required to have some insurance. Insurance companies could not refuse coverage due to pre-existing conditions. Families would get tax breaks to help pay for premiums. See PoliGraph for this issue >
Drug Prices:
New regulations, laws would lead to lower prices
Clinton's health care proposal allows the government to negotiate with drug companies for Medicare drug prices, import drugs from industrialized nations, and use laws, regulations or incentives to get generics to the market more quickly. She recommends oversight of drug companies' financial relationships with doctors. See PoliGraph for this issue >
Prevention:
Require insurers cover preventive services, disease management
Under Clinton's plan, government health plans and private plans participating in federal programs must cover high-priority preventive services, determined by recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Insurers would provide both individuals and providers with financial incentives, such as eliminating co-pays for prevention services. See PoliGraph for this issue >
Technology:
Institute a national "paperless" health information technology system
Clinton has long been a proponent of electronic medical records and pledges to invest billions in federal money to help public and private health providers implement the technologies. Privacy of personal data and network security are high priorities, she has said. See PoliGraph for this issue >
Stem Cells:
Federal government must fund stem cell research
Clinton has attacked President Bush's policies that limit embryonic stem cell research to existing lines. Clinton has said that lifting the restrictions would be one of her first priorities after taking office. She has co-sponsored bills that would have provided federal funding for research and permitted "therapeutic cloning." See PoliGraph for this issue >
