George Bush has chosen to lavish tax cuts upon the wealthiest among us while working Americans struggle to afford health care for their families. John Kerry will take a different path. The American health care system has the world's best doctors and nurses, the finest hospitals and the most effective drugs. But far too many Americans can’t afford or access the system. John Kerry’s health care plan will start by expanding health care coverage to 96 percent of Americans – including nearly all children. Kerry is also committed to assuring high quality health care by including a strong enforceable patients’ bill of rights and reducing medical errors.
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Affordable Health Care for All Americans
Remarks by John Kerry at Mercy Medical
December 14, 2003
"Seven months ago, I unveiled my health care plan at Mercy Medical in Des Moines. On that day, I vowed to fight for the day when affordable health care is a right, not a privilege, for every American. I vowed to fight for the 40 million uninsured Americans who have no coverage -- including the nearly quarter of a million who live right here in Iowa. I vowed to fight for senior citizens forced to choose between their meals and their medicine."
Kerry's Plan to Lower Prescription Drug Prices for Seniors
President George Bush has promised to give seniors more choices for affordable prescription drugs, but he broke that promise by signing legislation that rewarded industry profits rather than Americans seniors. At an event with Illinois Governor Blagojevich, John Kerry highlights his plan to lower prescription drug prices for America’s seniors.
Four-Point Plan to Strengthen Medicare
John Kerry today outlined a four-step plan to restore Medicare and provide real prescription drug relief for all Americans. In his first 100 days as President, Kerry will propose a bill that keeps Medicare strong, instead of privatizing it, and allows seniors to choose their doctor, instead of forcing them into HMOs.
Read the Plan to Restore MedicareRead More About the First 100 Days
Three-Point Plan to Keep Every Kid Safe, Healthy and Ready to Learn
John Kerry outlined a three-point plan today to make kids safer and healthier and assure they enter school ready to learn. His plan includes a new Kids Safety Effort requiring safety labels for food allergens and mandatory testing of prescription drugs used for treating children; setting comprehensive standards for early childhood education; and providing health insurance for every child in America.
Plan to Respond to the International and Domestic AIDS Crisis
As the author of the most comprehensive HIV/AIDS bill ever to pass the Senate and a proven fighter to expand funding for US bilateral and global AIDS programs, John Kerry understands that the HIV/AIDS epidemic has implications for the life and death of millions of men, women and children across the globe as well as for global security.
International PlanDomestic Plan
Priorities
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Give Every American Access to the Same Plan As Members of Congress |
Nine million Federal employees get health care through the Federal Employees Health Care Benefits program (FEHBP), which offers a wide range of plans with good benefits. The Kerry plan will allow every American access to this system. With tax-based incentives to employers and tax credits to individuals and the self-employed, the Kerry plan will ensure that this coverage is affordable. The most vulnerable groups, including the unemployed and retirees below age 65, will be covered. To hold down premiums, the federal government will reimburse companies for 75 percent of catastrophic claims totaling more than $50,000, provided they pass the savings on to their policyholders. |
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Guaranteed Health Care for Every Child |
Studies show that kids without health insurance are less likely to get checkups or treatment for ear infections or asthma. Kids without health care also have a harder time learning in school. In a new compact with the states, the Federal government will pick up the cost of Medicaid coverage for children in exchange for automatic enrollment of all school children eligible for the Children's Health Insurance Program. Eligibility for coverage will be extended to 300 percent of poverty-level incomes for children, and coverage will be extended to the six million single and childless adults who are uninsured and live below the poverty line. Independent experts estimate that the Kerry plan will cover 99 percent of America’s children. |
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Support Medical Research and Assure All Americans from Benefit from the More Effective Treatment |
New science and medical research has the power to improve and even save many lives. However, it is not a guarantee that Americans will benefit from groundbreaking improvements. George Bush has tried to undermine this research for political reasons. Moreover, we have an erratic health care system that prevents many Americans from getting the best care available. John Kerry has a three-pronged strategy to make sure advances in science and medical research are benefiting American families: (1) Assure we are not undermining the power of science and technology to find new treatments and prevention for our most devastating diseases; (2) Improve our health care system to assure our providers and patients use and get the most effective care; (3) Make sure protections are in place so there are no barriers that prevent patients from receiving care. |
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Make Health Care More Affordable |
For Small Businesses Health care costs are rising about 15 percent this year for small businesses and often as high as 25 percent. Small businesses are much less likely to offer health care coverage because it tends to be more expensive for them. Small businesses have administrative costs and they often see premiums rise when one employee has high health care costs. By joining the new Congressional Health Plan under Kerry’s plan small businesses will be able to provide more affordable coverage. Kerry is also proposing refundable tax credits up to 50 percent of coverage to small businesses and their employees to help subsidize the cost of health insurance. For Workers In Between Jobs There are approximately 8 million unemployed people in the United States today. John Kerry believes that when you lose your job you shouldn't lose your health care. That is why he is proposing a 75 percent tax credit to assure workers can keep their health insurance between jobs. For Retirees and Americans Age 55 to 64 Retirees and Americans age 55 to 64 have the hardest time buying coverage. Gaps in our patchwork system of health care are most noticeable for those Americans that risk losing their health care before they turn 65 and are eligible for Medicare. This less healthy population is often priced out of affordable coverage. Kerry’s plan will allow these Americans to buy into the Congressional health plan at an affordable price and give a tax credit to make it even more affordable. |
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Protecting Medicare |
John Kerry will never balance the budget on the backs of America’s seniors. Other candidates have supported major cuts that cause premium increases and cutbacks in benefits. John Kerry won’t. Kerry will fight for quality care in all parts of the country – rural and urban. Kerry will make sure that seniors get quality care no matter where you live. John Kerry will implement a real prescription drug benefit in Medicare and he will never force seniors into HMOs. |
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A New Approach to Control Spiraling Health Care Costs |
Workers cannot afford health insurance premiums that are rising ten times as fast as wages. John Kerry has a comprehensive plan to stop spiraling health care costs, including providing relief for the highest cost cases. In 2001, only 4/10 of one percent of private insurance claims were for individuals with health expenses in excess of $50,000. However, these claims accounted for nearly 20 percent of medical expenses for private insurers. Under Kerry’s proposal companies and insurers that guarantee a pass-through of the savings to their workers through reduced premiums, would be reimbursed for 75 percent of catastrophic costs above $50,000. To be eligible for this relief, employers would have to: provide affordable health coverage to all their workers; demonstrate they will pass through savings of up to $1000 to workers; and encourage disease management to improve and hold down the cost of care.
Lowering Costs with New Technology The annual cost of health care in America is $1.4 trillion. About 25 percent, or $350 billion, is spent on non-medical items, principally paperwork such as billing and record-keeping. No other industry is so inefficient. This expensive drain on the system can be cut in half with modern technology. Kerry's program will offer a "technology bonus" as an incentive to health care providers and insurers to update their procedures and switch to electronic records. |
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Affordable Prescription Drugs for All |
John Kerry supports adding a strong affordable prescription drug benefit to Medicare. However, he believes that the prescription drug benefit should not rely on HMOs or undermine retiree coverage that exists today. In addition, the Kerry plan will reduce drug costs for everyone by: using the federal government's purchasing power to induce giant drug wholesalers to pass along to consumers the rebates they get from the drug manufacturers; getting more affordable generic drugs to the market, giving states the flexibility to negotiate better deals, and allowing people to buy quality drugs through Canada. |
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Assuring Fairness for People with Mental Health Needs |
Despite recent breakthroughs in science and new effective drugs and better community health services, mental illness continues to be treated differently from physical illness. John Kerry will take on insurers and end discrimination by requiring full mental health parity for once and for all. Kerry also wants to strengthen the Medicaid program that helps many people with mental illnesses. He will: fight against the Bush plan to block grant Medicaid; support $25 billion in state relief that would help Medicaid; and fight to change skewed incentives that keep people from working and getting Medicaid at the same time, which makes it harder to get community-based care.
Too many people don’t seek treatment for mental illnesses either because they are afraid to or they don’t care. We must continue to reduce stigma and raise awareness about mental illnesses. Kerry also believes mental health care should be a critical part of our response to terrorism. Finally we need judges and lawmakers who are committed to strengthening key protections, like the Americans with Disabilities Act, privacy protections, and other key civil rights laws – and not turn the clock backwards, like this President wants to do. |
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Making Malpractice Insurance More Affordable |
Medical malpractice insurance has become so expensive in some states that physicians are moving or giving up their practices, cutting access to care for their patients. The Kerry plan will hold down malpractice premiums by requiring an impartial review of a claim before an individual could file suit and by eliminating punitive damages except in egregious cases. Kerry's plan will not put a cap on legitimate damage awards. |
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A Strong Enforceable Patients' Bill of Rights |
Some candidates don’t believe that the patients’ bill of rights matters and that we should just focus on expanding coverage to the uninsured. John Kerry disagrees. He believes that health insurance must be worth something when you need it and he believes that doctors, nurses and patients should make health care decisions, not HMO bureaucrats. That’s why he will fight for a strong enforceable patients’ bill of rights to assure patients get access to the specialists they need, can choose their own doctor, have access to a real appeals process, and can hold HMOs accountable when they make mistakes that hurt the patients. |
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Protect the Right to Choose |
John Kerry believes that women have the right to control their own bodies, their own lives, and their own destinies. He believes that the Constitution protects their right to choose and to make their own decisions in consultation with their doctor, their conscience, and their God. He will defend this right as President. He recently announced he will support only pro-choice judges to the Supreme Court. Kerry also believes that we should promote family planning and health plans should assure women contraceptive coverage. |
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Protecting Women’s Health |
John Kerry has worked to ensure women receive access to health care, and he has focused particular attention on breast cancer research and funding. Kerry was an original cosponsor of the Women's Health Equity Act, which ensures women of all ages receive information and access to the highest quality and most advanced health care. He has worked to require health plans to cover hospital stays for breast cancer treatment and to preserve and increase funding for breast and cervical cancer research.
Kerry supports requiring insurance plans to cover contraception and he will continue to fight for a meaningful Patient's Bill of Rights, which would ensure women direct access to their OB/GYNs. |
