State of South Carolina secondary Archives: on Health Care
Barack Obama:
National insurance pool & catastrophic insurance
Let me tell you what [my health care plan] would do. Number one, we should have a national pool that people can buy into if they don’t have health insurance, similar to the ones that most of us who are in Congress enjoy right now. It doesn’t make sense
to me that my bosses, the taxpayers, may not have health insurance that I enjoy. And we can provide subsidies for those who can’t afford the group rates that are available. The second thing is to make sure that we control costs. We spend $2 trillion on
health care in this country every year, 50% more than other industrialized nations. And yet, we don’t have, necessarily, better outcomes. If we make sure that we provide preventive care and medical technology that can eliminate bureaucracy and paperwork,
that makes a big difference. The third thing is catastrophic insurance to help businesses and families avoid the bankruptcies that we’re experiencing all across the country and reduced premiums for families.
Source: 2007 South Carolina Democratic primary debate, on MSNBC
Apr 26, 2007
Bill Richardson:
Focus on preventive healthcare without raising taxes
Q: You are perhaps the most strident on the position against raising taxes to pay for health care. A: As Democrats, I just hope that we always don’t think of new taxes to pay for programs. This is what I would do. I would have the following principles
In 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 & inefficiencies
in our health care system. 31% 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 would focus on prevention, and focus more on deterring diseases like diabetes, that is 30% of our Medicare costs.
Source: 2007 South Carolina Democratic primary debate, on MSNBC
Apr 26, 2007
Catherine Templeton:
Blow up state health agency, from the inside out
Templeton's record as a state agency chief in Haley's Cabinet also could give fuel to critics. For example:- Templeton made enemies--and was sued--for laying off several dozen employees at the state's labor and environmental agencies.
While Republicans praised her cost-cutting efforts, Democrats criticized her for overlooking the human cost of the cuts.
- Under Templeton's leadership, the state's health agency also was slow to respond to a tuberculosis outbreak at a
Greenwood County school in the town of Ninety Six, infuriating parents. When tested, 53 students had been infected with the disease, which can be deadly if untreated.
- Gov. Haley asked Templeton to run the state's health and
environmental agency and "blow it up, from the inside out," Templeton says. "We did, and you can read all about it in the paper. The liberal media called me a buzz saw. The Democrats said I was dangerous. But I didn't care."
Source: The State on 2018 South Carolina gubernatorial race
Oct 7, 2017
Dennis Kucinich:
Universal not-for-profit health care
Q: What are you planning to do to help Americans have affordable health care premiums?A: The problem with our health care system--premiums, co-pays and deductibles which for-profit insurance companies run through the roof. I’m the cosponsor of the
Conyers-Kucinich bill, H.R. 676, provides for universal, not-for-profit health care, takes that $2.2 trillion and puts it all into health care for people. We are already paying for a universal system of health care. We’re just not getting it.
Source: 2007 South Carolina Democratic primary debate, on MSNBC
Apr 26, 2007
Donald Trump:
Taking care of poor sick people isn't single-payer
Q: If Obamacare is repealed & there's no mandate for everybody to have insurance, why would insurance companies insure somebody who has a pre-existing condition?TRUMP: Well, I like the mandate. I don't want people dying on the streets. The Republican
people, they don't want people dying on the streets, but sometimes they'll say "Donald Trump wants single payer."
Q: Will people with pre-existing conditions be able to get insurance?
TRUMP: Yes.
Now, the new plan is good. It's going to be inexpensive. It's going to be much better for the people at the bottom, people that don't have any money. We're going to take care of them through maybe concepts of Medicare. Now, some people would say, "that's
not a very Republican thing to say." That's not single payer, by the way. That's called heart. We gotta take care of people that can't take care of themselves.
Source: 2016 CNN GOP Town Hall in South Carolina
Feb 18, 2016
Elizabeth Warren:
On tobacco: Have an FDA head who believes in science
Q: What will you do to help end the disease burden of tobacco?WARREN: The problem is a tobacco industry that's still calling the shots and that leans on the FDA to stay out of doing science-based, health-based regulations. I want to see an
FDA that is science-based, that is research-based, and they make recommendations and they make regulations that are based on that science and nothing else. I will have a head of the FDA who believes in science, and then I will back that person up 100%.
Source: CNN Town Hall on eve of 2020 South Carolina primary
Feb 26, 2020
Elizabeth Warren:
Home health care workers to become critical occupation
We need to provide more home health care, and the medical plans that I have are exactly about that, making sure that a loved one can stay at home. It's often cheaper to be able to do that. But you've got to be able to compensate the people who are doing
the work, and they've got to be compensated fairly. Home health care workers are going to be one of our critical occupations in coming decades, and we've got to be willing to put the resources in to support them.
Source: CNN Town Hall on eve of 2020 South Carolina primary
Feb 26, 2020
Gloria Bromell Tinubu:
Work toward making health care more affordable
She says she'd work toward making health care more affordable. "What's powering the economy is knowledge," she says. "South Carolina has always been at the bottom when it comes to education. We've been at the bottom when it comes to income.
We've been at the bottom when it comes to health care. We have to address the issue of affordable health care. At the end of the day, if we are in a knowledge economy, if you don't have your health, you don't get to play the game."
Source: Post and Courier on 2020 South Carolina Senate race
May 31, 2019
Hillary Clinton:
Still scarred from ‘94 failure, but ready for universal care
I tried to achieve universal health care back in ‘93 or ‘94, and I still have the scars from that experience. You know, I take it as a perverse form of flattery, actually, that if they weren't worried, they would not be so vitriolic in their criticism
of me. Because I believe that the country is ready for change. I believe America is ready now for universal health care. It is ready to clean up the government after the corruption and the cronyism of the Bush years.
Source: 2007 South Carolina Democratic primary debate, on MSNBC
Apr 26, 2007
Hillary Clinton:
1990s plan failed after big pharma & insurance worked on it
I do have the experience of having put forth a plan, with many of the features that [my opponents have] mentioned. And people were enthusiastic about it initially, but then after the insurance companies and the pharmaceutical companies got finished
working on it, everybody got nervous and so politically we were not successful. Well, I'm ready to try again, and there's three things we've got to do. We've got to control and decrease costs for everyone. This is not just about the uninsured.
Yes, we have nearly 47 million uninsured, but we've got many millions more who have an insurance policy that they can barely afford and that they can't get the treatments they need under it. We have to cover everybody but we've got to improve quality.
We can save money within the existing system. I am not ready to put new money into a system that doesn't work until we've tried to figure out how to get the best outcomes from the money we already have.
Source: 2007 South Carolina Democratic primary debate, on MSNBC
Apr 26, 2007
Jaime Harrison:
Lower access to care "ripping a heart out of a community"
Harrison estimates that roughly 250,000 South Carolinians don't have healthcare, in part because, he says, Graham chose to reject Medicaid expansion under ObamaCare. "This is a state where two years ago, 14 out of the 46 counties had no OBGYNs,"
Harrison reports. "This is a state in which we've had four rural hospitals that have closed over the past few years." Harrison insists the declining access to care has been like "ripping a heart out of a community."
Source: Essence Magazine on 2020 South Carolina Senate race
May 26, 2020
Jaime Harrison:
COVID: Put blame on how we handled it, I take it seriously
Q: How has politicization of the virus damaged our response?Graham: President Wilson got the Spanish flu right after World War I, and we live in such unusual times I doubt if anybody yet attacked him. All I can say is that
the virus is a problem that came out of China, not Trump Tower. The one thing I want people to know is that the virus is serious, but we have to move on as a nation. When a military member gets infected, you don't shut down the whole unit.
Harrison: We shouldn't blame the president. We shouldn't blame anybody for the inception of this disease. But where blame should come is how we handled this disease, whether or not we take it seriously. That's why I put this plexiglass up because
it's not just about me, it's about the people in my life that I have to take care of, my two boys, my wife, my grandmother. We need to make sure we are addressing the issue here in South Carolina.
Source: 2020 South Carolina Senate debate (Rev.com transcript)
Oct 3, 2020
John Edwards:
Require employer coverage for every single American
Q: Which taxes would you raise to pay for health care? A: I would get rid of Bush's tax cuts for people who make over $200,000 a year. My universal health care plan would require employers to cover all their employees or pay into a fund that covers
the cracks in the health care system--mental health parity; chronic care; preventative care; long-term care; subsidized health care costs. Give people a choice, including a government choice. And require that every single American be covered.
Source: 2007 South Carolina Democratic primary debate, on MSNBC
Apr 26, 2007
John Kasich:
Ohio expanded Medicaid but not for ObamaCare
KASICH: Our Medicaid programs [in Ohio] are coming in below cost estimates, and our program in the second year grew 2.5%. When we expand Medicaid and treat the mentally ill, they don't live under a bridge or in a prison, where they cost $22,500 a year.
When we take the drug addicted and we treat them, we stop the revolving door of people in and out of prisons and save $22,500 a year.BUSH: I admire the fact that Governor Kasich is supporting spending more money on drug treatment and mental health.
I think that's a high priority, but expanding ObamaCare is what we're talking about, and ObamaCare's expansion, even though the federal government is paying for the great majority of it, is creating further debt on the backs of our children.
KASICH: When Jeb was governor, his first four years as governor, his Medicaid program grew twice as fast as mine. With ObamaCare, I've not only sued the administration, I did not set up an exchange. Jeb knows that I'm not for ObamaCare, never have been.
Source: 2016 CBS Republican primary debate in South Carolina
Feb 13, 2016
John Kasich:
We save $22,500 a year by treating addicts & mentally ill
Q: You pushed Medicaid reform in your state over the rejections of many of the republicans. KASICH: Our Medicaid programs are coming in below cost estimates, and our program in the second year grew 2.5 percent. When we expand Medicaid and treat the
mentally ill, they don't live under a bridge or in a prison, where they cost $22,500 a year. When we take the drug addicted and we treat them, we stop the revolving door of people in and out of prisons and ave $22,500 a year.
Source: 2016 CBS Republican primary debate in South Carolina
Feb 13, 2016
Lee Bright:
Full implementation of ObamaCare ends self-governance
In his first term, Bright hopes to help bring an end to "Obama's radical agenda, and item number one is stopping ObamaCare."
Bright's reasoning is that "full implementation of ObamaCare means the end of our experiment in self-governance as we know it."
Source: Edgefield Advertiser on 2014 South Carolina Senate race
Oct 29, 2013
Lee Bright:
Repeal ObamaCare; it's not a government responsibility
Question topic: It is the government's responsibility to be sure everyone has health care and a livable income.Bright: Strongly Disagree
Question topic: The Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) should be repealed by Congress.
Bright: Strongly Agree
Source: Faith2Action iVoterGuide on 2014 South Carolina Senate race
Jul 2, 2014
Lindsey Graham:
Let ObamaCare show itself as a continuing debacle
Q: What about this idea of shutting down the federal government to stop ObamaCare?GRAHAM: I hope we learn from this tactical mistake that they made regarding defunding ObamaCare. We have got a unique opportunity here after this debacle called
the shutdown to reenergize the Congress and maybe get better standing.
Q: What about Senator Ted Cruz--has he hurt your party by shutting down on ObamaCare?
GRAHAM: I think the tactical choice that he embraced hurt our party.
After this debacle called the shutdown, our party's been hurt. Our brand name is at its lowest ever. ObamaCare actually got a bump in polling. And we got in the way of a disastrous roll-out, so from my point of view, this was a tactical choice that hurt
us, but the good news for the Republican Party is that of the debacle is over, if we don't do it again and ObamaCare is a continuing debacle. ObamaCare is a debacle that will go into 2014. The shutdown should be in our rearview mirror as Republicans.
Source: CBS Face the Nation 2013 on 2014 South Carolina Senate race
Oct 20, 2013
Lindsey Graham:
Opposed ObamaCare from day one
A narrator says in Graham's new TV ad: "He was ranked as a top five Senate budget-cutter by National Taxpayers Union Foundation. He opposed ObamaCare from day one, voted to repeal it and introduced legislation giving states the option to opt out.
Sen. Lindsey Graham: A conservative leader who gets things done."
Source: The Hill e-zine AdWatch on 2014 South Carolina Senate race
Mar 3, 2014
Lindsey Graham:
COVID: no one attacked Wilson when he got Spanish flu
Q: How has politicization of the virus damaged our response?Graham: President Wilson got the Spanish flu right after World War I, and we live in such unusual times I doubt if anybody yet attacked him. All I can say is that
the virus is a problem that came out of China, not Trump Tower. The one thing I want people to know is that the virus is serious, but we have to move on as a nation. When a military member gets infected, you don't shut down the whole unit.
Source: 2020 South Carolina Senate debate (Rev.com transcript)
Oct 3, 2020
Mia McLeod:
Join 39 other states in expanding Medicaid
As Governor, I will immediately join 39 other states in expanding Medicaid, which will increase healthcare coverage and improve healthcare access for approximately
200,000 South Carolinians who are currently being denied care, simply because they live in the Palmetto State.
Source: 2022 South Carolina Governor campaign website MiaForSC.com
Jun 15, 2022
Nancy Mace:
ObamaCare will be the undoing of our American way of life
I believe ObamaCare will inflict serious harm to our economy and the quality of healthcare in America. In addition, the added burden of the individual mandate and the complete disregard for individual liberty tear at the fabric of what it means to be
free.Long term, ObamaCare will be the undoing of our American way of life. I feel very strongly that we must reverse this terrible policy by using every possible tactic at our disposal; defund, repeal, and legal challenges must all be on the table.
We cannot allow beltway pollsters to scare us into surrendering on this defining issue of our time.
Graham said yesterday, "To my Republican colleagues: let's embrace reality.
We can't delay or defund at this moment." Senator Graham is a long time dealmaker on Capitol Hill. It's time he quit trying to act as if he is fighting for conservative principles, when, the reality is, he's not.
Source: 2014 South Carolina Senate campaign website, NancyMace.org
Oct 14, 2013
Nikki Haley:
Let Medicaid buy generics for AIDS, cancer, & mental health
The majority of prescription drugs issued by Medicaid are generic, with three large exceptions: AIDS, cancer, and mental health. We propose that we remove the proviso prohibiting the use of generic medications to treat those three afflictions.
I realize that this may sting pharmaceutical companies, and some lobbyists, but it is an option that will allow us to realize real savings without compromising the quality of care for our patients.
I ask that we strike the proviso prohibiting the HHS Director from setting rates paid to providers through Medicaid.
South Carolina is the only state in the nation that doesn't give our Medicaid director that flexibility, and with all due respect, we can't be the only state that has it right.
Source: 2011 South Carolina State of the State Address
Jan 19, 2011
Nikki Haley:
Reject ObamaCare state exchange; reject Medicaid expansion
Those of us who fought the President's disastrous healthcare plan have watched as predictions of lost coverage, rising costs, and unprecedented dysfunction have come true. ObamaCare is damaging to the country, and it is damaging to South Carolina.
But as a state, and as an elected government, we will not be victims in this process. We rejected the federal government's less than generous offer to run a state exchange, an offer that would have Washington bureaucrats dictating the exchange and
South Carolinians paying for it.
And, with your help, we emphatically said no to the central component of ObamaCare, the expansion of a broken Medicaid program that is already cannibalizing our budget, and would completely destroy it in the years to
come.
These were not decisions made lightly, without thought or analysis. But I am fully convinced that South Carolina will be better for them, and I pledge to you this: we will continue to fight ObamaCare every step of the way.
Source: 2014 South Carolina State of the State Address
Jan 22, 2014
Rick Wade:
ObamaCare addresses closing health care disparities
Wade acknowledges Scott's achievement [as the first black S.C. Senator], but insists Scott hasn't done much for his state with the position. "Well listen, Tim is not what we need based on where South Carolina is," says Wade. "South Carolina has,
unfortunately, some of the greatest health care disparities in the country. We're ranked at the bottom on education. Our unemployment rate is one of the highest in the country. Tim's not doing anything to fix those problems.
He's been in Congress, albeit he's only been appointed for what, maybe a year now by Governor Haley. And he's not doing anything. He's not addressing the issues in
Washington that help to close those health care disparities. And you've got to do more than just attack ObamaCare. I mean, what's the answer? What's the solution?"
Source: TheGrio webzine interview on 2014 South Carolina Senate race
Dec 13, 2013
Ron Paul:
Legalizing prostitution is about protecting liberty
Q: You say that the federal government should stay out of people's personal habits, including marijuana. You feel the same about prostitution and gay marriage. Why should social conservatives vote for you?
A: They will, if they see that my defense of liberty is the defense of their right to practice religion and say their prayers where they want. It's an issue of protecting liberty across the board. We don't have the
First Amendment so we can talk about the weather. We have the First Amendment so we can say very controversial things. If you have the inconsistency, then you're really not defending liberty.
You can't hurt other people, but yes, you have the right to do things that are very controversial. If not, then you'll have a government that tells us what we can eat and drink and whatever.
Source: 2011 GOP primary debate in South Carolina
May 5, 2011
Steve Forbes:
Solve health care affordability with choice
Q: How would you help people on fixed incomes pay for health care? A: I proposed that people on Medicare have the same kind of choice that members of Congress and those who work for the federal government have: being able to choose from several hundred
different health care plans. If you need prescriptive medicines, you can pick a plan that will provide that need. If you need long-term care, you can do the same thing. I want to give people choice, put health care back in the hands of the people.
Source: Republican debate in West Columbia, South Carolina
Jan 7, 2000
Thomas Dixon:
ObamaCare needs to be protected and expanded
Healthcare: - ObamaCare needs to be protected and expanded to cover all Americans that still do not have health coverage. It is our duty to protect the most vulnerable in our society.
- Veterans have served our country and our country
needs to make sure we are funding timely and state-of-the-art treatment for veterans to receive care.
- The elderly need to be protected from exorbitant pricing for drugs that saps them of their limited income.
Source: 2016 South Carolina Senate campaign website DixonForSC.com
Aug 8, 2016
Thomas Ravenel:
Against ObamaCare
Ravenel has consistently described himself as a fiscally conservative and socially moderate libertarian. He's an acolyte of Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.): against ObamaCare,
opposed to foreign interventions, but pro-gay marriage and in favor of ending the war on drugs. "The government should be limited, small, and should stay out of both the bedrooms and our boardrooms," he says in one episode.
Source: Mother Jones magazine on 2014 South Carolina Senate race
May 12, 2014
Thomas Ravenel:
Tort reform will reduce medical liability
On Tort Reform: "Trial lawyers cannot continue to drive up health care costs for all Americans and exploit the system at our expense. I will work and vote to stop them."President Bush is serious about federal tort reform, but he needs help in the
filibustering-prone US Senate. We must enact similar tort reforms passed in certain states, such as TX & WV. There are regions of our country where there are 300 lawsuits for every 100 doctors. No matter that 85% of these suits fail; at $20,000-$40,000 a
pop to put up a defense, doctors can't afford the sky-high insurance rates. Thus, doctors are becoming scarce in certain fields like obstetrics and neurosurgery. Meaningful tort reform will reduce medical liability premiums by 30%--and overall health
insurance costs will surely drop. The largest contributors to the Democratic Party are the Trial Attorneys. Our struggle will be to overcome the Democratic opposition, which is determined to keep the trial attorneys in new yachts.
Source: 2004 South Carolina Senate campaign website, ravenel2004.org
Sep 1, 2004
Tim Pawlenty:
No top-down, government-run, limited-choice system
Q: You have had plenty to say about RomneyCare including this quote: "Looking at the Massachusetts experience, it would not be the one I would want for the country to follow any further" 84% of Massachusetts's residents are satisfied with the plan.
So why not?A: The answer to our health care problem is not to drag it into Washington DC and create a top-down, government-run, centralized, limited-choice, limited-option system. We took a different direction in my state of Minnesota: to empower
individuals and families to make choices that are best for them. If they need financial help let's give it to them directly. Obama promised the nation that he would do health care reform, focused on cost containment. He opposed an individual mandate.
And said he was going to do it with Republicans. He broke that promise. He and jammed down our throats one of the most partisan, one of the most misguided pieces of legislation in the country it is going to make health care worse, not better.
Source: 2011 GOP primary debate in South Carolina
May 5, 2011
Tim Scott:
Repeal ObamaCare; it's not a government responsibility
Question topic: It is the government's responsibility to be sure everyone has health care and a livable income.Scott: Disagree
Question topic: The Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) should be repealed by Congress.
Scott: Strongly Agree
Source: Faith2Action iVoterGuide on 2014 South Carolina Senate race
Sep 30, 2014
Page last updated: Feb 18, 2023