2007 Governor's State of the State speeches: on Health Care

Ted Strickland: Access to Health Care for Every Ohio Child

Rick Perry: Medical liability reforms have reduced frivolous lawsuits

Frivolous lawsuits are down, as are insurance rates for homeowners and doctors. Thanks to medical liability reforms, hospitals are once again able to recruit specialists whose expertise can mean the difference between life and death.

Rick Perry: $50 million nursing initiative to address shortage of nurses

Rick Perry: Healthier Texas: $200M funding pool for uncompensated care

Of the 5.5 million uninsured Texans, 2 million are adults with incomes below 200% of the federal poverty level. Most are working Texans whose jobs offer healthcare benefits they can't afford, or no benefits at all.

Today I am proposing a new initiative called "Healthier Texas" that will open the door to more affordable insurance options for two million working Texans. This initiative redirects hundreds of millions of federal dollars spent on uncompensated care for the uninsured to the creation of a funding pool to purchase insurance for working Texans below 200% of the federal poverty level. This solution recognizes the wisdom of expanding the insurance market without a government takeover of your healthcare and without adding one more Texan to the government rolls.

Martin O`Malley: Pass the Maryland healthcare act to expand health coverage

Jon Huntsman: We mandate insurance for cars, but not children's health

In addition to the children, there are hundreds of thousands of uninsured adults. We must stop kidding ourselves that those who are uninsured are simply not receiving health care. They are receiving care, but they are receiving too little, too late--and typically in settings such as emergency rooms where the care is much more expensive than if it had been provided elsewhere.

Tim Kaine: 1 million Virginians do not have health insurance

The cost of these services has significantly increased the cost of health insurance, moving it beyond the reach of many small employers and the self-employed. An estimated 1 million Virginians do not have health insurance. As a result, many of our citizens often do not receive the preventive care that is so important in reducing the onset of more serious health problems.

We must continue to work together to strengthen health and health care in Virginia. And there is so much that we can do to improve. The first step is helping Virginians take better care of themselves. While there are a growing number of exceptions, our health care system does not consistently encourage healthy living in a meaningful way