2009 address to joint session of Congress: on Health Care


Barack Obama: FactCheck: Healthcare costs cause one bankruptcy per minute

Obama said, "We must also address the crushing cost of health care. This is a cost that now causes a bankruptcy in America every 30 seconds."

Data show about 934,000 personal bankruptcies in FY 2008. There are about 32 million seconds in a year. So someone filed for bankruptcy roughly every 30 seconds last year. But even a very high estimate would only attribute half of those personal bankruptcies to medical expenses. So that's one health-related bankruptcy every minute at most.

Source: FactCheck.org on 2009 State of the Union address Feb 24, 2009

Bobby Jindal: Universal access, but not government-run

Republicans believe in a simple principle: No American should have to worry about losing their health coverage--period. We stand for universal access to affordable health care coverage. What we oppose is universal government-run health care. Health care decisions should be made by doctors and patients, not by government bureaucrats. If we put aside partisan politics and work together, we can make our system of private medicine affordable and accessible for every one of our citizens.
Source: GOP response to the 2009 State of the Union address Feb 24, 2009

  • The above quotations are from 2009 address to a joint session of Congress, plus the Republican Response: Feb. 24, 2009.
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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: Feb 24, 2019