Not since Hillary Clinton’s healthcare reform plan failed to ignite the attention of Congress has US healthcare been buzzed about in politics. The coming of the 2008 Presidential election has resulted in a cropping up of new ideas to help healthcare, which has grown more expensive than even when Hillary Clinton was working on it.
Many of the Democratic challengers are focusing on extending coverage to the US’s 47 million uninsured. The need for healthcare for these people has been becoming imperative.
The US spends up to 17 percent of the gross domestic product on healthcare, which is double the average for wealthy countries. Much of healthcare is the burden of employers who pay for healthcare insurance for their employees. In fact, contributions to healthcare premiums account for $1500 of each car that General Motors produces. The coffee company “Starbucks” pays more in healthcare than it does for coffee beans.
Secondly, there has been a shift toward making healthcare affordable for those who actually do have healthcare. Healthcare inflation regularly outstrips the rate of general inflation in all recent years. Healthcare premiums have almost doubled since 2000. Half of all US families pay a fourth of their income on health insurance. Added to that is the fact that half of all bankruptcies by individuals are due to a medical crisis.
Candidates from both parties are talking about prevention as the best way to reduce healthcare costs. This means prevention against heart disease, cancer, diabetes and obesity. Three leading Democratic candidates all favor creating a universal healthcare system, giving subsidies to the uninsured. Republicans are less detailed on their plans but all state that healthcare is a priority. Healthcare now ranks second or third among voters as an issue of concern.
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