CNN political race coverage: on Health Care
Beto O`Rourke:
Expand health care benefits and support for veterans
O`Rourke was the lead sponsor of a measure that expanded mental health care for veterans with "other-than-honorable" discharge. He successfully pushed for a measure that requires mental health examinations for those leaving military service.
O'Rourke's plan includes requiring the public reporting and display of staffing rations and wait times, expanding telehealth offerings,
pushing for an industry-wide standardization of electronic health care data, and mandating a new focus on mental health, addiction treatment and suicide prevention.
O`Rourke is also calling for National Institutes of Health spending on Alzheimer's research to double to $5 billion per year "to confront risks stemming from" military service.
Source: CNN coverage of 2020 Democratic primary
Jun 24, 2019
Bill Gates:
$100M for AIDS research; focus on poor countries
Business leaders and governments should step up their efforts in the battle against AIDS, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates told participants at the World Economic Forum. Gates, who last week gave a further $100 million to help the efforts to contain AIDS,
spoke of his horror that only 2% of funds handed over by philanthropists went from rich countries to poor ones. He said that when he gave $50 million to research on the killer disease malaria, he was told that he was doubling the funds available.
“That’s the most terrible thing I’ve heard. It’s outrageous how little is put into research on malaria,” Gates said. It was lucky AIDS was present in the rich world, said Gates, otherwise the resources being devoted to finding a vaccine for the pandemic
would be even lower.
Meanwhile, a United Nations population expert predicted a “fatality avalanche” from AIDS and said that so far, every prediction of the scale of AIDS deaths has proved a serious underestimate.
Source: CNN.com coverage
Jan 29, 2001
George W. Bush:
Modernize Medicare and give prescription help to seniors
Medicare is an enduring commitment of our country, but it must be modernized for our times. We will work to modernize Medicare, but we will not wait to help seniors without prescription drugs. This plan will help
seniors much sooner than anything proposed by my opponent. Even if the Gore plan passed, no one would get drug benefits for eight years.
Source: CNN.com coverage
Sep 5, 2000
George W. Bush:
Reinvent Medicare's bureaucracy
Bush's proposed initiatives are intended to reinvent Medicare in a way that would incrementally break down the federal bureaucracy which now administers the multibillion-dollar insurance program. Bush's two-part,
10-year plan for seniors aims to provide immediate drug coverage to low-income earners, shore up the solvency of the Medicare program over the coming decade and offer seniors a menu of health-care plans from which to choose.
Source: CNN.com coverage
Sep 5, 2000
Jo Rae Perkins:
No masks; I don't need to be a doctor--I know how to read
I asked, "Do you not believe in wearing masks?""Do you see one?" Perkins replied.
"I do not. But what's your answer?"
"No," Perkins said
"Why not?"
"They do absolutely nothing to protect you," she said confidently.
So I asked, "How do you
know that? Are you a scientist?"
"No, I don't need to be a scientist. I've done tons of reading," Perkins retorted.
"Oh. Are you a doctor?" I asked.
"I don't need to be a doctor either. I know how to read," she said with a chuckle.
Source: CNN coverage of 2022 Oregon Senate race
Aug 22, 2020
Sonia Sotomayor:
Insurers must pay benefits even when sued by beneficiary
On reimbursement of health insurance benefits: In 2005, Sotomayor ruled against a health insurance company that sued the estate of a deceased federal employee who received $157,000 in insurance benefits as the result of an injury.
The wife of the federal employee had won $3.2 million in a separate lawsuit from those whom she claimed caused her husband's injuries.
The health insurance company sued for reimbursement of the benefits paid to the federal employee, saying that a provision in the federal insurance plan requires paid benefits to be reimbursed when the beneficiary is compensated for an injury by a
third party. The Supreme Court upheld Sotomayor's ruling in a 5-4 opinion [on grounds that state law should prevail over federal law. Justices Breyer, Kennedy, Souter, and Alito dissented. (Empire Healthchoice Assurance, Inc. vs. McVeigh, 2005)
Source: CNN coverage of upcoming Sotomayor hearings
Aug 1, 2009
Page last updated: Oct 26, 2024