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The Great Presidential MashupThe Democrats on health care.


Updated Friday, Sept. 7, 2007, at 10:22 AM ET

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This is what I would do. I would have the following principles. In our health-care plan, my new health-care plan, no new bureaucracy. Every American shares, along with businesses, the state and the federal government. I would focus on prevention.

I would also ensure that the first thing we do is deal with the bureaucracy and inefficiencies in our health-care system. Thirty-one percent of our health care goes to inefficiencies and bureaucracy.

If we had a health information system where doctors and nurses could share information about health care, we would save billions of dollars. I would also make sure that we would re-establish the doctor-patient relationship, eliminate those in the middle, like HMOs and others. But my plan, I believe, would focus on prevention. We need to focus more on deterring these diseases, like diabetes, that is 30 percent of our Medicare costs.

New Hampshire Debate, June 3, 2007

No. 1: My plan is mandatory. You do have everybody sharing–the employer, the employee–you have the state and the federal government. Secondly, I believe that we can have a plan where, if you were satisfied with your health-care plan, you can keep it. No new bureaucracies. But, in addition to that, you focus on prevention. You allow everybody to get the congressional plan that every member here has.

Under my health-care plan, if you have served this country—enlisted, a veteran—I would give you under my health-care plan, your husband, a hero's health card so that your husband could get health care anywhere they want, with any doctor, with any hospital. Our system right now, our VA system, is good, but we have to offer our veterans that choice. Some have to go 150 miles, especially in rural areas.

I would also do something else in terms of veterans' health care. What we have in our VA system is cost-of-living increases for other benefits, but not for VA health care. And today a lot of our vets coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan, PTSD, mental health. We cannot do enough to help them. And it's critically important that we have a well-funded VA system.

CNN/ YouTube Debate, July 23, 2007

[On whether his plan would cover undocumented workers] Yes, it would. It should cover everybody. In this country, no matter who you are, whether you're a ditch-digger, you're a teacher, you're a CEO, you're a waiter, you're a maid, every American deserves the right to the best possible quality health care.

AFL-CIO Debate, Aug. 7, 2007

What I would also say to you as an Iraqi war veteran, when you come home, I will have guaranteed to protect our veterans, to fully fund VA hospitals, to deal with the issues like mental health and PTSD for thousands of our Iraqi and Afghanistan vets coming home. And something else I will do for all veterans–today you've got to get your health care at the VA; sometimes it's 170 miles away. They're understaffed, they're not fully funded. I would guarantee funding for those VA hospitals, but I would also give you a hero's health card so that you and Iraqi, Afghanistan, all veterans can get health care in America anywhere you want, anywhere you want.

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