She has emphasized healthcare issues throughout her political career and has been a vocal proponent of Medicaid expansion in Kansas. Healthcare will be a key issue of her U.S. Senate campaign as well. She called the unaffordability and inaccessibility of healthcare a top issue.
Her focus on health could draw her into the debate among Democrats over Medicare For All--the idea that Medicare, which provides health coverage to older people, should be expanded to cover all or nearly all Americans.
"I am not supportive of Medicare For All mandates. That is not the way to go. I support maintaining Medicare and finding a path to have a public option that people can buy into," Bollier said, adding that people should be able to keep their private insurance if they are happy with it.
"I am not supportive of Medicare For All mandates. That is not the way to go. I support maintaining Medicare and finding a path to have a public option that people can buy into," Bollier said, adding that people should be able to keep their private insurance if they are happy with it.
Bollier's support for a public option appears to be a difference between her and Grissom, a former U.S. attorney who said he wanted to focus on expanding health care access and affordability when he announced his Senate bid in July.
Brewer favors Medicaid expansion, saying that "We're all equal and we all deserve the opportunity" to get health care. Denying care to the poor is "like saying 'You're not worth it,'" he said.
Hartman said he understands that Medicaid expansion is an important issue for the survival of hospitals, but "We do not have the money here in the state of Kansas to fund it." Hartman, an oilman and restaurant owner, is running as a business outsider and said that if he's elected, he'll use his business experience to identify waste in the state budget so that those dollars can be spent on something more important, like health care.
Removing the subset of consumers with pre-existing conditions to a specialized pool targeted to the specific needs of that population will ensure for them not only quality insurance coverage but more effective and personalized care without many of the complexities of the private insurance market. The result for those remaining in the traditional individual market will be a return to less expensive market-driven premiums reflective of the insured's respective health status.
Roberts has supported health care spending at times. He voted for the prescription drug benefit that was added to Medicare in 2003 and has supported federal efforts to expand health care delivery options in rural areas.
Orman has not expressed support for repeal of the entire Affordable Care Act and says the Republican Party's repeal attempts are futile until President Barack Obama leaves office. But he has criticized Obamacare as an expansion of a "broken system" and says he would have voted against the measure had he been in the Senate.
A: SUPPORT, but it should not be income-based. People are not getting adequate treatment for this reason.
"There's been strong and steadfast support in both parties and in all regions of the country for the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) ever since its creation in 1997. This program has enabled millions of children the opportunity to see a doctor, to receive preventative care and to live healthier lives. Yet the progress we have made is now threatened. For health and moral reasons, Congress must reauthorize SCHIP by September 30, 2007. Without timely reauthorization and funding, it will be virtually impossible for states to continue coverage for children already enrolled in SCHIP programs."
If Kansas increases eligibility in the program, which provides health coverage to low-income individuals and individuals with disabilities, to 138 percent of the federal poverty level, then the federal government will pay for 90 percent of the cost. For a family of four, that's $35,535 a year. The state's share of the cost of expansion has been estimated at somewhere between $34 million and $47 million a year.
The ruling left the discretion to expand up Medicaid up to states. The Kansas Legislature passed a law in 2014 to require the governor to obtain legislative approval before expanding. Kelly, who was recruited into the race for governor by Sebelius, has made it her mission to expand the program to cover an additional 150,000 Kansans after watching 36 other states and the District of Columbia expand Medicaid during the past seven years.
Wagle is firmly set against it because of concerns about the long-term costs.
Kelly announced she was removing exemptions for churches and funerals from a statewide order that limits gatherings of more than 10 individuals. The Legislative Coordinating Council then voted 5-2 along party lines to rescind the governor's order. The action invited confusion about whether there is no longer a statewide ban on any kind of large public gathering.
"[This] confusing and overtly political attack [was a] a shockingly irresponsible decision that will put every Kansas life at risk," Kelly said. Governors in 44 states have imposed similar restrictions on church attendance. But Republicans complained that Kelly had overstepped her authority by restricting religious gatherings. "It appears to be out of line, extreme and clearly a blatant violation of our fundamental rights," said Senate president Susan Wagle.
Let me be ver clear. I'm not proposing that we pass a watered down smoking ban. I do not want legislation that the tobacco industry writes, full of loopholes and not a real ban. 75% of Kansans want a real public smoking ban and I am asking you to give that to them.
While the Constitution does not give the federal government the authority to interfere with our health care, the big-government types have been at work for decades and have, by any fair assessment, wreaked havoc. The first health care waiver was granted in 1929 when the American Medical Association successfully lobbied that Blue Cross be exempt from certain regulations and taxes. Thus began the era of crony health care where Big Government's friends were more equal than the rest of us.
The unkeepable promises of ObamaCare are, as we say in medicine, too numerous to count, and are already collapsing. You can keep your current doctor and your current insurance. No tax increases. No rationing. Reduce the deficit. Four million new jobs created--"400,000 almost immediately." Public hearings. These are the pathetic peddlings of false hope.
The President made yet another empty promise: if there was a way to solve our health care problems with the free market, he said, he'd be happy to do so. I'm calling his obvious bluff.
Wolf responded to a story published by The Topeka Capital-Journal and a tidal wave of condemnation about X-ray imager he uploaded to the social media site and sadistic jokes he made online about individuals killed by gunfire or harmed in other ways. "Several years ago, I made some comments about these images that were insensitive to the seriousness of what the images revealed," Wolf, a radiologist, said. "I soon removed those images. However, my mistakes are my own & I take full responsibility for them."
He said the cumulative effect of witnessing human suffering & tragedy took a toll on those practicing medicine, but "I am truly sorry and ask for your forgiveness."
Wolf also held his "political adversary" responsible for igniting controversy about the images. He said Roberts "wants to attack me as a doctor rather than giving Kansans a reason to vote for him."
Wolf: Strongly Disagree
Question topic: The Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) should be repealed by Congress.
Wolf: Strongly Agree. As a medical doctor, I am well aware of the many reasons why we must fully repeal ObamaCare. I have authored a free-market alternative to ObamaCare, called PatientCare. I believe we must fully repeal ObamaCare and replace it with a free-market alternative.
Sen. Pat Roberts, a Republican from her home state of Kansas who stood by her side more than four years ago when President Obama announced her nomination, was the first lawmaker to call for her resignation.
Todd Tiahrt, a former GOP congressman from Kansas, said that the call for Sebelius' ouster is merited. "Look at a parallel situation in the private sector of a CEO being hired by a board of directors to implement something that they have heavily invested in," Tiahrt said. "If it comes to a disaster, I would venture to guess that the CEO would immediately be withdrawn and fired. "
Roberts has supported health care spending at times. He voted for the prescription drug benefit that was added to Medicare in 2003 and has supported federal efforts to expand health care delivery options in rural areas.
Orman has not expressed support for repeal of the entire Affordable Care Act and says the Republican Party's repeal attempts are futile until President Barack Obama leaves office. But he has criticized Obamacare as an expansion of a "broken system" and says he would have voted against the measure had he been in the Senate.
Wiesner said his job is to make the Affordable Care Act work. "Repeal is unlikely," he wrote. "Small business owners and the self-employed are seeing annual health insurance premium increases of 30 to 40 percent. I have a client family of five (all non-smokers) whose monthly insurance premiums went from $1,070 in 2015 to $1,450 in 2016."
A: Strongly Oppose.
Of the 23 state exchanges established under ObamaCare, a majority have failed, at a cost of billions including significant hits to state budgets. As major insurers abandon the few remaining state exchanges, the decision to refuse early adoption looks increasingly like declining a discount ticket on the Titanic.
The same holds true for the policy choice not to take the bait on Medicaid expansion. You've heard the promise--hundreds of thousands more beneficiaries at zero cost to the state--all paid for with 'free' federal money. It would be foolish to endorse the ObamaCare expansion of Medicaid now--akin to airlifting on to the Titanic. Kansas was right. Kansas should stay the course.
"There's been strong and steadfast support in both parties and in all regions of the country for the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) ever since its creation in 1997. This program has enabled millions of children the opportunity to see a doctor, to receive preventative care and to live healthier lives. Yet the progress we have made is now threatened. For health and moral reasons, Congress must reauthorize SCHIP by September 30, 2007. Without timely reauthorization and funding, it will be virtually impossible for states to continue coverage for children already enrolled in SCHIP programs."
Kelly, who has made expansion her signature issue, said in the expansion debate the term "study" has come to mean "stall."
[Under Medicaid expansion], the federal government will pay for 90% of the cost. For a family of four, that's $35,535 a year. The state's share of the cost of expansion has been estimated between $34 million and $47 million a year.
Wagle was open to the idea of expansion in the past based on her family's own battles with cancer, but she's firmly set against it now because of concerns about the long-term costs. "It's going to break our back," Wagle said. "Health care is the primary driver of the debt at the federal level. And states are complaining to me that have passed expansion that they absolutely can't afford it. So we have to reform the system."
Kelly announced she was removing exemptions for churches and funerals from a statewide order that limits gatherings of more than 10 individuals. The Legislative Coordinating Council then voted 5-2 along party lines to rescind the governor's order. The action invited confusion about whether there is no longer a statewide ban on any kind of large public gathering.
Governors in 44 states have imposed similar restrictions on church attendance in the face of a deadly and contagious disease. But Republicans in Kansas complained that Kelly had overstepped her authority by restricting religious gatherings. "It appears to be out of line, extreme and clearly in violation, a blatant violation, of our fundamental rights," said Senate president Susan Wagle, a Republican from Wichita.
The comment does not tell the whole story. Two of the highest-profile and significant elements of the bill start in 2014. Health care exchanges would start that year, as well as subsidies to help people buy coverage on the exchange. And, yes, some of the tax provisions that do start immediately: a 10% levy on indoor tanning, and an escalating annual fee on drugmakers.
So Tiahrt is correct that the bill's biggest expansions in coverage do not happen until 2014, and that some taxation begins well before that. But he makes it sound like all the taxes hit immediately and there are no significant benefits in the first four years. In fact, the taxes levied in the early years account for a small percentage of the total dollars involved. So we find his claim Half True.
Sen. Pat Roberts, a Republican from her home state of Kansas who stood by her side more than four years ago when President Obama announced her nomination, was the first lawmaker to call for her resignation.
Todd Tiahrt, a former GOP congressman from Kansas, said that the call for Sebelius' ouster is merited. "Look at a parallel situation in the private sector of a CEO being hired by a board of directors to implement something that they have heavily invested in," Tiahrt said. "If it comes to a disaster, I would venture to guess that the CEO would immediately be withdrawn and fired. "
Brewer favors Medicaid expansion, saying that "We're all equal and we all deserve the opportunity" to get health care. Denying care to the poor is "like saying 'You're not worth it,'" he said.
Hartman said he understands that Medicaid expansion is an important issue for the survival of hospitals, but "We do not have the money here in the state of Kansas to fund it." Hartman, an oilman and restaurant owner, is running as a business outsider and said that if he's elected, he'll use his business experience to identify waste in the state budget so that those dollars can be spent on something more important, like health care.
"We're the only developed country in the world where families are worried about health care," he said. "People are not able to take care of their families the way they need to because we're not controlling costs. I will help control costs in D.C."
We need to pass legislation to guarantee mental health care for our first responders. Right now, our police officers, our firefighters, our EMTs and paramedics are not eligible for workers compensation for PTSD--even if they experienced the traumatic event on the job. That is unacceptable. We say we value our first responders. Let's put our money where our mouth is and protect them just like they protect us.
Supporting statement in Missouri Medicine: High deductible plans and high co-insurance plans now dominate both the private sector plans and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Exchange plans.Knowing the out of pocket costs of non-emergency health care services is part of the informed decision process between a physician and patient. Patients need to know the financial obligation they will incur as well as being able to have time and ability to satisfy it. Knowing what out of pocket expenses will be due is important in the rapidly changing health care environment.
Legislative Outcome: Passed Senate 38-2-0 on 4/2/14; Sen. Jake LaTurner voted YES; Passed House 97-27-1 on 5/2; Signed by Gov. Brownback on 5/12
Supporting statement in Missouri Medicine: High deductible plans and high co-insurance plans now dominate both the private sector plans and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Exchange plans.Knowing the out of pocket costs of non-emergency health care services is part of the informed decision process between a physician and patient. Patients need to know the financial obligation they will incur as well as being able to have time and ability to satisfy it. Knowing what out of pocket expenses will be due is important in the rapidly changing health care environment.
Legislative Outcome: Passed Senate 38-2-0 on 4/2/14; State Sen. Kelly voted YES; Passed House 97-27-1 on 5/2; Signed by Gov. Brownback on 5/12
Supporting statement in Missouri Medicine: High deductible plans and high co-insurance plans now dominate both the private sector plans and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Exchange plans.Knowing the out of pocket costs of non-emergency health care services is part of the informed decision process between a physician and patient. Patients need to know the financial obligation they will incur as well as being able to have time and ability to satisfy it. Knowing what out of pocket expenses will be due is important in the rapidly changing health care environment.
Legislative Outcome: Passed Senate 38-2-0 on Apr/2/14; Passed House 97-27-1 on May/2/14; Signed by Governor Sam Brownback on May/12/14
Supporting statement in Missouri Medicine: High deductible plans and high co-insurance plans now dominate both the private sector plans and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Exchange plans.Knowing the out of pocket costs of non-emergency health care services is part of the informed decision process between a physician and patient. Patients need to know the financial obligation they will incur as well as being able to have time and ability to satisfy it. Knowing what out of pocket expenses will be due is important in the rapidly changing health care environment.
Legislative Outcome: Passed Senate 38-2-0 on 4/2/14; State Sen. Wagle voted YES; Passed House 97-27-1 on 5/2; Signed by Gov. Brownback on 5/12
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| 2024 Presidential contenders on Health Care: | |||
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Candidates for President & Vice-President:
V.P.Kamala Harris (D-CA) Robert F. Kennedy Jr.(I-CA) Chase Oliver(L-GA) Dr.Jill Stein(D-MA) Former Pres.Donald Trump(R-FL) Sen.J.D.Vance(R-OH) Gov.Tim Walz(D-MN) Dr.Cornel West(I-NJ) |
2024 presidential primary contenders:
Pres.Joe_Biden(D-DE) N.D.Gov.Doug Burgum(R) N.J.Gov.Chris_Christie(R) Fla.Gov.Ron_DeSantis(R) S.C.Gov.Nikki_Haley(R) Ark.Gov.Asa_Hutchinson(R) Former V.P.Mike Pence(R-IN) U.S.Rep.Dean_Phillips(D-MN) Vivek_Ramaswamy(R-OH) S.C.Sen.Tim_Scott(R) | ||
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