2008 Democratic debate at University of Texas in Austin: on Health Care


Barack Obama: My plan does more than anybody to reduce costs

Both Clinton and I want to set up a system in which any person is going to be able to get coverage that is as good as we have as members of Congress. We are going to subsidize those who can’t afford it, and make sure that we reduce costs by emphasizing prevention. I want to make sure that we’re applying technology to improve quality, cut bureaucracy. I want to make sure that we’re reducing costs for those who already have health insurance. So we put in place a catastrophic reinsurance plan that would reduce costs by $2,500 per family per year. So we’ve got a lot of similarities in our plan. We’ve got a philosophical difference: Clinton believes the only way to achieve universal health care is to force everybody to purchase it. My belief is that people don’t have it is not because they don’t want it but because they can’t afford it. So I emphasize reducing costs. My plan does more than anybody to reduce costs, and there is nobody out there who wants health insurance who can’t have it.
Source: 2008 Democratic debate at University of Texas in Austin Feb 21, 2008

Barack Obama: My health plan does not leave 15 million people uncovered

There are legitimate arguments for why Clinton and others have called for a mandate, and I’m happy to have that debate. But the notion that I am leaving 15 million people out somehow implies that we are different in our goals of providing coverage to all Americans, and that is simply not true. We think that there’s going to be a different way of getting there. I admire the fact that Clinton tried to bring about health care reform back in 1993. She deserves credit for that. But she did it in the wrong way because it wasn’t just the fact that the insurance companies, the drug companies were battling here, and no doubt they were. It was also that Clinton and the administration went behind closed doors, excluded the participation even of Democratic members o Congress who had slightly different ideas than the ones that Clinton had put forward. As a consequence, it was much more difficult to get Congress to cooperate. I’m going to do things differently. We have to open up the process.
Source: 2008 Democratic debate at University of Texas in Austin Feb 21, 2008

Barack Obama: Adults will get health care as they can afford it

When Clinton says a mandate, it’s not a mandate on government to provide health insurance, it’s a mandate on individuals to purchase it. Massachusetts has a mandate right now. They have exempted 20% of the uninsured because they have concluded that that 20% can’t afford it. There are people who are paying fines and still can’t afford it, so now they’re worse off than they were. They don’t have health insurance and they’re paying a fine. To force people to get health insurance, you’ve got to have a very harsh penalty, and Clinton has said that we won’t go after their wages. The reason a mandate for children can be effective is we’ve got an ability to make affordable health care available to that child, right now. There are no excuses. If a parent is not providing health care for that child, it’s because the parent’s not being responsible, under my plan. Those children don’t have a choice. But adults are going to be able to see that they can afford it and will get it under my plan.
Source: 2008 Democratic debate at University of Texas in Austin Feb 21, 2008

Hillary Clinton: Make it illegal to discriminate against sick people

You know, 350,000 children in Texas get health care every month because I helped to start the Children’s Health Insurance Program. And 21,000 National Guard and Reserve members get access to health care because I went across the party line and joined up with a Republican senator to make that happen. So there’s a lot that we’ve already done. But there’s so much more to do.

I want to take on the tough issues that face us now. I want to stop the health insurance companies from discriminating against people because they’re sick. You know, it’s unconstitutional to discriminate on the basis of race or gender or ethnic origin or religion, but it’s OK to discriminate against sick people. And we’re going to end that, because it’s time we said no more.

Source: 2008 Democratic debate at University of Texas in Austin Feb 21, 2008

Hillary Clinton: Tired of health insurance companies deciding who live or die

When I took on universal health care back in ‘93 and ‘94, it was against a firestorm of special interest opposition. I was more than happy to do that, because I believe passionately in getting quality affordable health care to every American. I don’t want to leave anybody out. I see the results of leaving people out. I am tired of health insurance companies deciding who will live or die.
Source: 2008 Democratic debate at University of Texas in Austin Feb 21, 2008

Hillary Clinton: Universal health care will not work if it is voluntary

Obama has a mandate for parents to be sure to ensure their children. I agree with that. If we don’t go and require everyone to have health insurance, the health insurance industry will still game the system. Everyone of us with insurance will pay the hidden tax of approximately $900 a year to make up for the lack of insurance. Edwards made a great point. It would be as though Social Security were voluntary. Medicare, one of the great accomplishments of President Johnson, was voluntary. I do not believe that is going to work. You look at what will work and what will not work. If you do not have a plan that starts out attempting to achieve universal health care, you will be nibbled to death, and we will be back here with more and more people uninsured and rising costs. Obama recognizes that unless we have some kind of restriction, we will not get there. He’s also said that if people show up at a hospital sick, without health insurance, maybe at that point you can fine them.
Source: 2008 Democratic debate at University of Texas in Austin Feb 21, 2008

  • The above quotations are from Democratic debate, just prior to Texas primary, at the University of Texas in Austin, February 21, 2008, moderated by CNN's Campbell Brown and Univision. .
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Health Care.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
  • Click here for more quotes by Barack Obama on Health Care.
  • Click here for more quotes by Hillary Clinton on Health Care.
2016 Presidential contenders on Health Care:
  Republicans:
Gov.Jeb Bush(FL)
Dr.Ben Carson(MD)
Gov.Chris Christie(NJ)
Sen.Ted Cruz(TX)
Carly Fiorina(CA)
Gov.Jim Gilmore(VA)
Sen.Lindsey Graham(SC)
Gov.Mike Huckabee(AR)
Gov.Bobby Jindal(LA)
Gov.John Kasich(OH)
Gov.Sarah Palin(AK)
Gov.George Pataki(NY)
Sen.Rand Paul(KY)
Gov.Rick Perry(TX)
Sen.Rob Portman(OH)
Sen.Marco Rubio(FL)
Sen.Rick Santorum(PA)
Donald Trump(NY)
Gov.Scott Walker(WI) 		Democrats:
Gov.Lincoln Chafee(RI)
Secy.Hillary Clinton(NY)
V.P.Joe Biden(DE)
Gov.Martin O`Malley(MD)
Sen.Bernie Sanders(VT)
Sen.Elizabeth Warren(MA)
Sen.Jim Webb(VA)

2016 Third Party Candidates:
Gov.Gary Johnson(L-NM)
Roseanne Barr(PF-HI)
Robert Steele(L-NY)
Dr.Jill Stein(G,MA)
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Page last updated: Dec 01, 2018