State of South Carolina Archives: on Health Care


Joe Biden: Coronavirus: Deal with health crisis before economic crisis

Q: President Trump has said that he wants the country or at least parts opened up as early as Easter?

BIDEN: Medical experts indicate to me that it's more likely to be sometime into June, before we'd be in that position. But nobody knows for certain. What we do know is that it's a false choice to make, saying that either open the economy or everything goes to hell, or, in fact, you take care of the medical side. You cannot make this economy grow until you deal with the virus and that curve. You can't deal with the economic crisis until you deal with the health care crisis.

Q: When our savings account inevitably runs out due to him not being able to work right now, what is it that we sacrifice?

BIDEN: You should not have to sacrifice anything, not just because it's the fair thing for you be taken care of. You should not have to pay a penny for testing. You will be covered. Anything related to the cost of the coronavirus health care should be free, paid for out of the federal funds.

Source: CNN S.C. Town Hall amid 2020 primaries Mar 27, 2020

Amy Klobuchar: Medicare-for-All costs $60T & kicks off 149M from insurance

Q: [to Senator Sanders]: You've proposed more than $50 trillion in new spending. You've said Medicare for all will cost $30 trillion.

Bernie SANDERS: Over a 10-year period.

Q: But you can only explain how you'll pay for just about half of that. Can you do the math for the rest of us?

SANDERS: A new study that just came out of Yale University, published in Lancet magazine, said Medicare-for-All will lower health care costs in this country by $450 billion a year and save 68,000 lives of people who otherwise would have died.

Q: Senator Klobuchar, does the math add up?

Amy KLOBUCHAR: No, the math does not add up. [Sanders' figures miss] nearly $60 trillion. That is three times the American economy--not the federal government--the entire American economy. The Medicare-for-All plan alone on page eight clearly says that it will kick 149 million Americans off their current health insurance in four years. That is true.

Source: 10th Democratic Primary debate on eve of S.C. primary Feb 25, 2020

Bernie Sanders: Medicare-for-All will save Americans $450B per year

Q: [to Senator Sanders]: You've proposed more than $50 trillion in new spending. You've said Medicare for all will cost $30 trillion.

Bernie SANDERS: Over a 10-year period.

Q: But you can only explain how you'll pay for just about half of that. Can you do the math for the rest of us?

SANDERS: How many hours do you have? A new study that just came out of Yale University, published in Lancet magazine, said Medicare-for-All will lower health care costs in this country by $450 billion a year and save 68,000 lives of people who otherwise would have died. One of the options in our plan is a 7.5% payroll tax on employers, which will save them substantial sums of money.

Q: Senator Klobuchar, does the math add up?

Amy KLOBUCHAR: No, the math does not add up. [Sanders' figures miss] nearly $60 trillion. The Medicare-for-All plan alone on page eight clearly says that it will kick 149 million Americans off their current health insurance in four years.

Source: 10th Democratic Primary debate on eve of S.C. primary Feb 25, 2020

Bernie Sanders: Debt forgiveness for doctors & nurses in under-served areas

Sen. Amy KLOBUCHAR: We're going to have a million openings for home health care workers, particularly in rural areas, that we don't know how to fill. I have passed the bill that allows doctors from other countries that study in our medical schools to stay and serve in rural areas. We need to expand that.

SANDERS: We put $2 billion into a program which would provide debt forgiveness for doctors, nurses, dentists, we have a major dental affordable crisis in this country, to make sure that they are practicing in underserved areas. The advantage of a Medicare-for-All health care program, because it's not driven by profits for the drug companies and the insurance companies, we will have health care for all people in all parts of this country.

Source: 10th Democratic Primary debate on eve of S.C. primary Feb 25, 2020

Bernie Sanders: International cooperation on coronavirus, and full funding

In the White House today, we have a self-described "great genius"--self-described--and this "great genius" has told us that this Coronavirus is going to end in two months. April is the magical day that this great scientist we have in the White House has determined--I wish I was kidding; that is what he said.

What do we have to do? Whether or not the issue is climate change, which is clearly a global crisis requiring international cooperation, or infectious diseases like Coronavirus, requiring international cooperation, we have to work and expand the World Health Organization.

Obviously, we have to make sure the CDC, the NIH, our infectious departments, are fully funded. This is a global problem. We've got to work with countries all the over the world to solve it.

Source: 10th Democratic Primary debate on eve of S.C. primary Feb 25, 2020

Joe Biden: Work with China, in China, on coronavirus

Q: What would you do about coronavirus?

BIDEN: What we did with Ebola--I was part of making sure that pandemic did not get to the United States, saved millions of lives. And what we did, we set up, I helped set up that office on pandemic diseases. We increased the budget of the CDC. We increased the NIH budget. And our president today--and he's wiped all that out. [With Ebola], we did it; we stopped it.

Q: So, more funding?

BIDEN: I would immediately restore the funding. [Trump] cut the funding for CDC. He tried to cut the funding for NIH. He cut the funding for the entire effort. And here's the deal. I would be on the phone with China and making it clear, we are going to need to be in your country; you have to be open; you have to be clear; we have to know what's going on; we have to be there with you, and insist on it and insist, insist, insist. I could get that done. No one up here has ever dealt internationally with any of these world leaders. I'm the only one that has.

Source: 10th Democratic Primary debate on eve of S.C. primary Feb 25, 2020

Mike Bloomberg: NYC life expectancy grew 3 years during my 12 years as mayor

Q: As mayor of New York, you declared war on obesity, you banned trans-fats from restaurants and you tried to do the same thing with large sugary drinks. So if you become president, will you push those policies on the national level as well?

BLOOMBERG: I think what's right for New York City isn't necessarily right for all the other cities. But I do think it's the government's job to explain to people what science says on how to extend their lives. There are too many people that are obese. We should do something about that. But just a look what happened with smoking. We did ban smoking in NYC in public places, restaurants, offices, and that sort of thing. And it has spread across America, across Europe, across Latin America.

Q: Are New Yorkers living longer because of your policies?

BLOOMBERG: Before I left, life expectancy in New York City had grown by three years during our 12 years in office such that, when I left, it was three years greater than the national average.

Source: 10th Democratic Primary debate on eve of S.C. primary Feb 25, 2020

Jaime Harrison: Improve access to health care for poor, rural communities

Jaime knows first-hand how hard it can be to access medical care when you're from a poor, rural community. That means lowering the cost of healthcare for those who already pay too much, extending healthcare to those who cannot afford it, making sure the health care all South Carolinians get is high quality and covers all services the services they actually need, lowering prescription drug prices, protecting people with pre-existing conditions, and stopping the closure of rural hospitals.
Source: 2020 S.C. Senate campaign website, JaimeHarrison.com Dec 12, 2019

Jaime Harrison: Opposes work requirements for Medicaid recipients

"I am disappointed by the Governor's decision today and Sen. Graham's support of work requirements geared to ripping away healthcare from over 14,000 South Carolinians," Harrison said. "We should be delivering solutions that increase access to affordable, quality care instead of playing political games with the health of poor residents of the Palmetto State. South Carolinians deserve better than this."
Source: 2020 S.C. Senate campaign website, JaimeHarrison.com Dec 12, 2019

James Emerson Smith: Expand Medicaid immediately to give needed healthcare

On the first day of the job as your Governor, James will expand Medicaid and deliver healthcare to over 150K South Carolinians who are being denied access simply because they live in the Palmetto State. By not accepting Medicaid expansion, Henry McMaster is sending our tax dollars to other states while our own citizens are using emergency rooms for their own healthcare needs. We need to expand coverage to increase access to high quality, affordable healthcare and keep our tax money at home.
Source: 2018 S.C. gubernatorial candidate website JamesSmith.com May 2, 2018

Ralph Norman: Repeal and replace ObamaCare with free-market-based plan

Ralph's Plan: Repeal ObamaCare. Republicans need to keep their promise to repeal and replace ObamaCare, along with its massive taxes and unfair mandates, with an affordable, free-market based health care plan. We should offer patients more choices, greater control and lower costs.
Source: 2017 S.C. House campaign website, ElectRalphNorman.com May 16, 2017

Henry McMaster: Challenge constitutionality of ObamaCare

Source: 2010 S.C. Gubernatorial campaign website HenryMcMaster.com Jan 11, 2017

Thomas Ravenel: We can't afford any more socialized medicine

Premiums for the average family with an employer-provided plan actually increased by $2,400 a year at the end of Obama's first term. And they are still going up. We can't afford any more socialized medicine. That's why ObamaCare should be immediately repealed and replaced with a free market system that allows interstate competition among insurers and equal tax treatment between individual purchasers and corporations. Federal red tape that kills innovation and efficiency should be slashed.
Source: 2014 S.C. Senate campaign website, RavenelForSenate.com Sep 1, 2014

Brad Hutto: Fix ObamaCare, but don't put insurance companies in charge

Brad wants to fix the Affordable Care Act and allow everyone to keep or obtain a plan that best suits their families' needs. He will not support legislation that will put the insurance companies back in charge or return us to a time when insurance could be denied for pre-existing conditions and families could go bankrupt because of lifetime caps.
Source: 2014 S.C. Senate campaign website, BradHutto.com Jun 25, 2014

Joyce Dickerson: Support ObamaCare to expand quality affordable care

We need representation in Washington that will vote your interests and not those of special interests. As your representative in Washington, I will vote to:
Source: 2014 S.C. Senate campaign website JoyceDickersonSC.com May 15, 2014

Nikki Haley: Medicaid is a broken system; federal mandates cause problems

Our number one health care problem in this country was its high cost--the way to provide better health to our citizens was not just massively expanding a broken system by giving it more government money. Medicaid is that broken system--there is too much waste, too much fraud, and too little focus on prevention and personal responsibility. And almost all of those problems are caused by the mandates of the federal government. But here in South Carolina, we are tackling the root causes of our problems, not just the symptoms. We are shifting towards Medicaid managed care, which saves us money and delivers better quality than traditional Medicaid. And we are giving managed care companies a financial stake in improving quality year after year. No longer will S.C. bear the costs of poorly managed health care alone. We will continue to push back against the federal takeover of our health care system. South Carolina does not want, and cannot afford, the President's health care plan. Not now, and not ever.
Source: 2012 S.C. State of the State Address Jan 18, 2012

Nikki Haley: No government-run health exchanges; transparency instead

South Carolina does not want, and cannot afford, the President's health care plan. Not now, and not ever. To that end, we will not pursue the type of government-run health exchanges being forced on us by Washington. Despite the rose-colored rhetoric coming out of D.C., these exchanges are nothing more than a way to make the state do the federal government's bidding in spending massive amounts of taxpayer dollars on insurance subsidies that we can't afford. We will have no part in that. Instead, we will continue to fight to increase transparency between patients and doctors and doctors and insurance companies and to get South Carolinians invested again in their health care . As a nation, we can no longer allow ourselves to be divorced from the true cost of our health care--and in South Carolina, we won't be.
Source: 2012 S.C. State of the State Address Jan 18, 2012

Mark Sanford: Transfer more Medicaid recipients into managed care programs

Source: 2002 S.C. Gubernatorial National Political Awareness Test Nov 1, 2002

  • The above quotations are from State of South Carolina Politicians: Archives.
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2020 Presidential contenders on Health Care:
  Democrats running for President:
Sen.Michael Bennet (D-CO)
V.P.Joe Biden (D-DE)
Mayor Mike Bloomberg (I-NYC)
Gov.Steve Bullock (D-MT)
Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D-IN)
Sen.Cory Booker (D-NJ)
Secy.Julian Castro (D-TX)
Gov.Lincoln Chafee (L-RI)
Rep.John Delaney (D-MD)
Rep.Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI)
Sen.Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)
Gov.Deval Patrick (D-MA)
Sen.Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
CEO Tom Steyer (D-CA)
Sen.Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
Marianne Williamson (D-CA)
CEO Andrew Yang (D-NY)

2020 Third Party Candidates:
Rep.Justin Amash (L-MI)
CEO Don Blankenship (C-WV)
Gov.Lincoln Chafee (L-RI)
Howie Hawkins (G-NY)
Gov.Gary Johnson(L-NM)
Howard Schultz(I-WA)
Gov.Jesse Ventura (I-MN)
Republicans running for President:
Sen.Ted Cruz(R-TX)
Gov.Larry Hogan (R-MD)
Gov.John Kasich(R-OH)
V.P.Mike Pence(R-IN)
Gov.Mark Sanford (R-SC)
Pres.Donald Trump(R-NY)
Rep.Joe Walsh (R-IL)
Gov.Bill Weld(R-MA & L-NY)

2020 Withdrawn Democratic Candidates:
Sen.Stacey Abrams (D-GA)
Mayor Bill de Blasio (D-NYC)
Sen.Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)
Sen.Mike Gravel (D-AK)
Sen.Kamala Harris (D-CA)
Gov.John Hickenlooper (D-CO)
Gov.Jay Inslee (D-WA)
Mayor Wayne Messam (D-FL)
Rep.Seth Moulton (D-MA)
Rep.Beto O`Rourke (D-TX)
Rep.Tim Ryan (D-CA)
Adm.Joe Sestak (D-PA)
Rep.Eric Swalwell (D-CA)
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