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Richard Carmona on Health Care
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Repealing ObamaCare means public pays for the uninsured
Flake said, "I will vote to repeal the president's health-care plan, my opponent will not." Repealing the plan would only put the burden on the people as the general public would pick up the insurance costs for the uninsured,
Carmona said. "There are good things in the plan, but it needs a better business plan," he added.
Source: Yuma Sun on 2012 AZ "Rural Issues" Senate debate
, Oct 25, 2012
Would not have voted for ObamaCare
Carmona said he wouldn't have voted for President Obama's healthcare reform law, although he has previously expressed support for the law and called its passage "brave."Flake attempted from the start of the race to tie
Carmona to Obama particularly and Democratic policies in general. And it's a fight Flake continued [in this debate], arguing that Carmona's positions, ranging from earmarks to healthcare, reflected the position of the Obama administration.
Source: The Hill on 2012 Arizona Senate debates
, Oct 10, 2012
Eliminate waste, fraud, & abuse--then prevention
Carmona asserted that both parties were wrong on healthcare because they hadn't addressed the main drivers of cost. In the short term, he suggested eliminating waste, fraud and abuse from the system, and, in the long term, he said there
would need to be a focus on preventive care. "The public can't get [an insurance] card anymore and just do what they want to do--smoke, drink excessively, don't wear a seat belt, don't wear a helmet," he said.
Source: The Hill on 2012 Arizona Senate debates
, Oct 10, 2012
Helped open the first trauma center in southern Arizona
Carmona grew up in Harlem, dropped out of high school, joined the Green Berets and served in Vietnam, where he became a battlefield medic. He graduated from the University of California, San Francisco's medical school.
He was recruited by the University of Arizona to help open the first trauma center in southern Arizona. While serving as chief of staff at the medical center, Carmona was also a reserve deputy and a commander of the county SWAT team.
Source: Kingman Daily Miner on 2012 Arizona Senate debate
, May 24, 2012
Indignity of being poor patient in hospital sensitizes me
"You know, having walked in those shoes of being hungry and being homeless--the indignities of not getting health care, or waiting in the public hospital, hoping somebody will care for you; going to sleep with a toothache
because you can't go to the dentist," he said. "I think it was, in retrospect, almost a gift of experience to me that sensitized me to the complexity of the world that we inherit today."
Source: Washington Post coverage of 2012 Arizona Senate debate
, May 3, 2012
Preserve Medicare benefits, but modernize it
Proposals that would end Medicare as we know it while driving up costs for seniors and cutting benefits are neither wise nor realistic. Medicare is a vital program that provides critical health care for a significant portion of our population, including
those that are among our most vulnerable. We should do all we can to preserve benefits, while cutting waste and fraud from the program, modernize medical records to save money, and work to lower overall health care costs.
Source: 2012 Senate campaign website, carmonaforarizona.com
, Mar 15, 2012
Page last updated: Nov 04, 2012