USA Today: on Health Care
Andrew Yang:
Provide comprehensive mental health coverage
Andrew absolutely believes we need more funding for mental health. He would provide comprehensive mental health coverage through a
Medicare for All plan so that all Americans who need it can receive treatment.
Source: USA Today on 2019 Democratic primary
Nov 7, 2019
Andrew Yang:
Supports forced licensing of drug patents to control costs
Andrew would allow Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices. He would push for the use of international reference pricing to control costs. If companies couldn't get costs under control, he would support forced licensing of drug patents to other
companies who could. He'd also support the creation of public manufacturing facilities to make necessary medications. If all else fails, Andrew is in favor of allow drug importation.
Source: USA Today on 2019 Democratic primary
Nov 7, 2019
Tom Steyer:
Supports public option; allow private insurance
I have proposed providing a public option that uses the negotiating power of the government to dramatically lower costs, including for prescription drugs and premiums. With this option, we can provide quality medical care to millions more families
and individuals while allowing Americans to keep their employer-based health care if they want to do so. A public option will expand coverage.
Rampant excesses of the pharmaceutical industry have put many life saving medications out of reach for America's patients.
We must utilize the power of the federal government to negotiate lower prices for patients and break the corporate stranglehold that the pharmaceutical companies have on our health care system.
Source: USA Today on 2019 Democratic primary
Nov 7, 2019
Tom Steyer:
More funding is needed for mental health care
More funding is needed for mental health care. There is a mental health crisis in America; among comparable countries, the U.S. has the highest rate of death from mental health and substance use disorders. As president, mental health would be included
in my universal health care plan. The Right to Health, including mental health, would be a top priority for my administration. We would make certain there was adequate funding of at least current levels for mental health services.
Source: USA Today on 2019 Democratic primary
Nov 7, 2019
Donald Trump:
Medicare for All is really Medicare for None
Throughout the year, we have seen Democrats across the country uniting around a new legislative proposal that would end Medicare as we know it and take away benefits that seniors have paid for their entire lives. Dishonestly called "Medicare for All,"
the Democratic proposal would establish a government-run, single-payer health care system that eliminates all private and employer-based health care plans and would cost an astonishing $32.6 trillion during its first 10 years.In practice, the
Democratic Party's so-called Medicare for All would really be Medicare for None. Under the Democrats' plan, today's Medicare would be forced to die. The Democrats' plan also would mean the end of choice for seniors over their own health care decisions.
Instead, Democrats would give total power and control over seniors' health care decisions to the bureaucrats in Washington, D.C.
Delaying reform will make it worse. Half of America skimps to pay for health care. The only fix is to cut waste.
Source: USA Today OpEd (press release by 2018 Trump Administration)
Oct 10, 2018
Donald Trump:
Let vets see private doctors or VA: that's not privatization
CLINTON: I will not let the V.A. be privatized. And I do think there is an agenda out there, supported by my opponent, to do just that.TRUMP: I never said take the Veterans Administration private. I wouldn't do that. But I do believe, when you're
waiting in line for six, seven days, you should never be in a position like that. You go out, you see the doctor, you get yourself taken care of. The V.A. is really almost a corrupt enterprise. So we are going to make it efficient and good.
And if it's not good, you're going out to private hospitals, public hospitals, and doctors.
FACT-CHECK: Trump's campaign published a "Veterans Plan" last October. It doesn't call for the VA to be completely privatized, but allows veterans to get care
at any non-VA medical center that accepts Medicare. Trump stuck to the idea when he released his "Ten Point Plan To Reform The VA" in July, giving "every veteran the choice to seek care at the VA or at a private service provider of their own choice."
Source: USA Today Fact-check on 2016 NBC Commander-in-Chief forum
Sep 7, 2016
Ted Cruz:
Washington wants ObamaCare, the people want liberty
Ted Cruz delivered a speech heavy with themes of liberty and freedom alongside biting attacks on President Obama and the ways of Washington: "Washington wants ObamaCare, the people want liberty," the Texas senator said at the Conservative Political
Action Conference. "Don't believe President Obama when he says when you like your Internet, you get to keep your Internet."As for his GOP rivals also eyeing the White House, Cruz seemed to raise doubts about their credentials and called on the
audience to demand that all presidential aspirants demonstrate their conservative bona fides: "Demand action, not talk," Cruz said. "If a candidate tells you that they oppose ObamaCare, fantastic! But when have you stood up and fought against it?
If a candidate says they oppose Obama's illegal executive amnesty, terrific. When have you stood up and fought against it?
"Repeal every blasted word of ObamaCare," Cruz concluded.
Source: USA Today on 2015 Conservative Political Action Conf.
Feb 26, 2015
Kay Hagan:
AdWatch: Hagan promised wrongly that all can keep insurance
Three Senate Democrats are the target of a new multimillion-dollar ad campaign over their support for ObamaCare. Americans for Prosperity, a conservative group backed by the billionaire Koch brothers, will launch ads this week against Democratic Sens.
Kay Hagan (NC), Jeanne Shaheen (NH) and Mary Landrieu (LA).The group is planning to spend $2.5 million to air the ads in major media markets in those states for three weeks. Last fall, Americans for Prosperity spent $16 million on ads attacking
ObamaCare. The new ads play off Obama's vow that people who like their health insurance plans can keep them. "I was shocked when I got the notice that my health care policy was canceled," says a Chapel Hill resident, in the ad targeting Hagan. "Kay
Hagan told us, if you like your insurance plan and your doctors, you can keep them. That just wasn't true."
Hagan's campaign released a statement calling the AFP ad a "new smear" and decrying the outside money being spent in North Carolina.
Source: USA Today AdWatch on 2014 North Carolina Senate race
Jan 2, 2014
Pat Roberts:
First to call for Sebelius resignation over ObamaCare fiasco
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is on the hot seat as the Obama administration battles to rebound from a problem-plagued rollout of the Affordable Care Act [and the ObamaCare website healthcare.gov]. She set off a fresh round of GOP
criticism after she said those calling for her resignation were "people who I don't work for and who do not want this program to work in the first place."Sen. Pat Roberts, a Republican from her home state of Kansas who stood by her side more than
four years ago when President Obama announced her nomination, was the first lawmaker to call for her resignation.
Todd Tiahrt, a former GOP congressman from Kansas, said that the call for Sebelius' ouster is merited. "Look at a parallel situation in
the private sector of a CEO being hired by a board of directors to implement something that they have heavily invested in," Tiahrt said. "If it comes to a disaster, I would venture to guess that the CEO would immediately be withdrawn and fired. "
Source: USA Today reporting on 2014 Kansas Senate race
Oct 29, 2013
Todd Tiahrt:
Calls for Sebelius resignation over ObamaCare fiasco
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is on the hot seat as the Obama administration battles to rebound from a problem-plagued rollout of the Affordable Care Act [and the ObamaCare website healthcare.gov]. She set off a fresh round of GOP
criticism after she said those calling for her resignation were "people who I don't work for and who do not want this program to work in the first place."Sen. Pat Roberts, a Republican from her home state of Kansas who stood by her side more than
four years ago when President Obama announced her nomination, was the first lawmaker to call for her resignation.
Todd Tiahrt, a former GOP congressman from Kansas, said that the call for Sebelius' ouster is merited. "Look at a parallel situation in
the private sector of a CEO being hired by a board of directors to implement something that they have heavily invested in," Tiahrt said. "If it comes to a disaster, I would venture to guess that the CEO would immediately be withdrawn and fired. "
Source: USA Today reporting on 2014 Kansas Senate race
Oct 29, 2013
Rick Perry:
Require 6th graders to receive STD vaccination
One of the biggest objections Tea Party groups have with Perry was his decision to sign an executive order in 2007 requiring all sixth-graders in the state to get vaccinated against HPV, or human papillomavirus, a sexually transmitted disease. The
Legislature passed a bill striking down Perry's order two months later."That's something that we the people need to decide for ourselves," a Tea Party spokesperson said.
Source: Alan Gomez in USA TODAY, "Tea Party"
Aug 8, 2011
Al Green:
Ensure quality health care is accessible to all individuals
Green said he will work to ensure that quality health care is accessible to all individuals, especially the elderly. “Our senior citizens have earned the right to live out the remainder of their lives free from worry that they might lose their
homes or have to choose between food and medicine,” he said. “I will ensure that seniors have affordable housing, necessary prescription drugs and a safe Social Security program.”
Source: Candidate Profile of Al Green, USA Today
Nov 2, 2004
Al Gore:
Patient rights: access to specialists; right to sue HMOs
| George W. Bush’s plan: | Al Gore’s plan: |
|---|
| Tax credit for 90% of health insurance costs for families making up to $60,000, individuals up to $45,000 | Tax credit worth 25% of premiums
paid by people who buy insurance on their own |
| Flexibility for states to expand coverage under the federal Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIPs) | Coverage for more children under the Children’s Health Insurance
Program (CHIPs) |
| Help for small businesses to buy cheaper insurance through multistate organizations | Enact a Patient’s Bill of Rights, with access to specialists, emergency rooms, and the right to sue HMOs |
Source: USA Today editorials, page 16A
Apr 13, 2000
George W. Bush:
Family Health Credit: pay for 90% of basic low-income policy
[My proposed] “Family Health Credit” would make a basic health plan more affordable. It would pay for 90%of the cost of an insurance policy, up to $2,000 a year, for every family making less than $30,000. Every family that is
not already covered by government programs or an employer plan would be eligible. This Family Health Credit would help to buy a basic policy that covers visits to a doctor, discounted prescriptions, and hospitalization.
Source: USA Today editorial by Bush, page 16A
Apr 13, 2000
George W. Bush:
Small business health insurance via trade associations
We will increase the number of good, lower-cost plans available to workers. Small businesses should be allowed to buy insurance from a trade association, giving them the same purchasing power as a
large company and bringing down the cost. This would allow a family restaurant, or a local hardware store, to insure their workers through the National Restaurant Association or the US Chamber of Commerce.
Source: USA Today editorial by Bush, page 16A
Apr 13, 2000
George W. Bush:
$3.6B for 1,200 new community health centers
I support increasing the number of community health centers across America. Community health centers are community-owned, locally administered medical clinics where people can receive preventive care, free vaccine clinics, health alerts,
disease screening, and counseling. They have become America’s health care safety net. Under my plan, we would provide $3.6 billion in federal money over a five-year period to create 1,200 new centers from coast to coast.
Source: USA Today editorial by Bush, page 16A
Apr 13, 2000
George W. Bush:
Health care access via empowerment, not nationalizing
I believe we can help low-income Americans have access to high-quality health care.- We can start by making a basic health plan more affordable, via a “Family Health Credit.”
- Second, we will increase the number of good, lower-cost plans
available to workers.
- Third, I support increasing the number of community health centers across America.
- Finally, I am proposing a Healthy Community Innovation Fund-an extra source of federal support for health care in underserved communities.
This initiative would support pilot programs for targeted purposes, such as AIDS education or mental health awareness.
These health care proposals will increase access to better health care and health insurance for millions of
low-income Americans. And unlike my opponent’s approach, my proposals will not nationalize our health care system; they will empower our patients.
Source: USA Today editorial by Bush, page 16A
Apr 13, 2000
George W. Bush:
More CHIPs; more multistate HMOs
| George W. Bush’s plan: | Al Gore’s plan: |
|---|
| Tax credit for 90% of health insurance costs for families making up to $60,000, individuals up to $45,000 | Tax credit worth 25% of premiums
paid by people who buy insurance on their own |
| Flexibility for states to expand coverage under the federal Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIPs) | Coverage for more children under the Children’s Health Insurance
Program (CHIPs) |
| Help for small businesses to buy cheaper insurance through multistate organizations | Enact a Patient’s Bill of Rights, with access to specialists, emergency rooms, and the right to sue HMOs |
Source: USA Today editorials, page 16A
Apr 13, 2000
Page last updated: Sep 23, 2022