Topics in the News: Medicare & Medicaid

Dick Gephardt on Tax Reform : Feb 27, 2001
$900B tax cut protects other important interests

Democrats have a better plan, a balanced plan that treats the national budget the way you treat your household budget. Our plan provides $900 billion in tax cuts for all Americans. Our plan protects every dollar of the Social Security and Medicare trust funds. It strengthens Medicare and adds an affordable prescription drug benefit so seniors don’t have to choose between food and medicine. It strengthens Social Security rather than subjecting it to a volatile stock market, so that it will be there, not only for the baby boomers, but for their children and their grandchildren.

Our plan enables us to keep paying down the national debt, the debt we ran up in the ‘80s, so we can keep interest rates low and keep our economy growing. And it invests in the future of our country, by making sure every child can get an excellent education at a first-rate public school. We can’t accomplish any of these goals if we spend the entire surplus on the president’s tax cut.

Click for Dick Gephardt on other issues. Source: Democratic reply to Bush’s Message to Congress

Bob Wise on Health Care : Feb 14, 2001
$1.5M to provide healthcare access for every child

This Legislature has acted wisely in establishing a Children’s Health Insurance Program to help the uninsured children of working families. But this program has yet to reach many eligible children.

I have included one and a half million dollars in the budget to cover additional children. And we will work aggressively - and cut through red tape - to make sure every child in West Virginia has access to coverage - whether under CHIP, Medicaid, or private insurance. Every child. That’s my goal.

Click for Bob Wise on other issues. Source: State of the State Address to West Virginia Legislature

Bob Wise on Health Care : Feb 14, 2001
More discounts for prescription drugs

We now have a strategy to contain prescription drug costs: we’re going to create a pharmacy benefit program for our poorest senior citizens. We’re going to expand the discount program for seniors above the poverty level. We’re developing a drug benefit plan that could be an add-on for people on Medicare and employer-based insurance. And we’re going to pool the buying power of all the state agencies that purchase medicine and use this to drive a harder bargain with the drug companies. Click for Bob Wise on other issues. Source: State of the State Address to West Virginia Legislature

Tommy Thompson on Health Care : Feb 2, 2001
Vows to protect Medicare, add drug benefit

We will modernize Medicare so it is effective and financially sound for today’s seniors and for tomorrow’s. And, we must find a way to provide seniors and the disabled affordable access to prescription drugs. In the next few weeks, we will craft a Patient’s Bill of Rights. We will aggressively act to provide access to affordable health insurance for the more than 43 million Americans who are uninsured. Click for Tommy Thompson on other issues. Source: Introductory speech to HHS Employees

Dick Gephardt on Tax Reform : Feb 1, 2001
Bush tax cut plan threatens our prosperity

Democrats contend that Bush’s tax cut plan already is too big and ineffectual as a stimulant. They say it would leave too little to overhaul Social Security and Medicare programs for retiring baby boomers.

House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt warned that Bush’s tax plan “threatens our prosperity and could return us to the big budget deficits of the 1980s. I, for one, have learned a valuable lesson from the 1981 Reagan tax cut. I do not intend to repeat that mistake.”

Click for Dick Gephardt on other issues. Source: MSNBC.com

Bob Holden on Health Care : Jan 30, 2001
Use tobacco settlement to pay for senior prescriptions

I want to see that our state’s portion of the national tobacco settlement is used for vital health care needs, [including] helping our senior citizens cope with skyrocketing prescription costs. As you know, Medicare doesn’t cover prescription drugs, and many of our seniors certainly cannot afford to buy separate insurance. Prescription drug relief for seniors is one of my highest priorities this year. Under my plan, no eligible senior will pay more than $1,500 a person or $3,000 a family for their prescription drugs in any one year. In addition, those seniors and those disabled Missourians on Medicare or Supplemental Security Income who do not already have insurance coverage for prescriptions will be able to buy their medicines at reduced rates-up to 20% less than they are currently paying. Because of these actions, we will be able to phase out our present prescription drug tax credit, which has failed to help those seniors who most need our assistance because of catastrophic health care costs. Click for Bob Holden on other issues. Source: State of the State speech in Missouri House Chambers

George W. Bush on Health Care : Jan 29, 2001
Senior Rx: “Immediate Helping Hand” now; more later

President Bush proposes to help low-income senior citizens obtain prescription drugs, but will include a message that he would consider broader Medicare changes that might speed up a prescription-drug benefit for all seniors. “We understand that there are many on the Hill who believe it should be done as part of comprehensive Medicare reform, and we will be open-minded on that,” a White House official said. The change is a new instance of Bush’s willingness to alter details of his programs to achieve his broad goals in a Congress where Republicans hold tissue-thin control.

Bush’s prescription drug plan, called “Immediate Helping Hand,” would provide $48 billion to states over four years so they could cover the full cost of drugs for the poorest senior citizens, and part of the cost for those who are slightly better off. As part of his broader plan for Medicare, Bush favors eventually paying at least 25% of the premium costs for prescription drug coverage for all seniors.

Click for George W. Bush on other issues. Source: Mike Allen, Washington Post, Page A12

Kenny Guinn on Health Care : Jan 22, 2001
Fund alternatives to long-term care for seniors

With the fastest growing senior population in the nation, Nevada must plan ahead. Therefore, I am requesting funding to study alternative living support, long-term care, and other programs to address our seniors’ needs effectively and efficiently into the future. But for those seniors who need our help today, I propose to increase Medicaid waivers by 40 percent to allow seniors to live in their communities and homes rather than hospitals. Click for Kenny Guinn on other issues. Source: State of the State Address to the Nevada Legislature

Jim Gilmore on Health Care : Jan 10, 2001
$25M more for medical care for most vulnerable citizens

There are certain men and women who those of us in government must always remember. Our most vulnerable citizens - the poor, the sick, the elderly, the disabled - often have no other alternative than help from the government.

Thousands of needy adults and children all across Virginia depend on Medicaid for their medical care. But with the rising cost of services and the growing use of those services, the financial burden on the state has increased dramatically. I propose we fully fund Medicaid this year. In addition, I propose $25 million to compensate the Medical College of Virginia for the care they provide patients who don’t have insurance or whose treatment isn’t covered by Medicaid. We must leave no Virginian behind, especially the poor who can’t afford medical care.

Click for Jim Gilmore on other issues. Source: State of the Commonwealth Address to VA General Assembly

Jim Geringer on Health Care : Jan 10, 2001
More funding for prescription drugs & senior care

Wyoming will benefit from our hard work this year to improve care for our elderly. In addition to the expanded funding that I’ve recommended in my budget request for health care services and prescription drugs, I support the proposals developed with your help for long-term care reform, providing seniors with access to assisted living, expanding home based care, re-engineering Medicaid’s arcane administrative details, and giving seniors a boost to their personal needs allowance. Click for Jim Geringer on other issues. Source: State of the State Address to Wyoming Legislature

Bill Graves on Health Care : Jan 8, 2001
More funding for Medicaid matching & pharmaceuticals

We will match federal Medicaid dollars so that low-income women diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer can better access treatment for these all-too-common, yet curable, diseases. Until now, Medicaid dollars could only be used to screen for these diseases; now they can provide treatment. Also underway is a pharmaceutical buy-back program to allow long-term care facilities to return to pharmacies unused medications for repackaging. We anticipate savings of at least $1.4 million a year. Click for Bill Graves on other issues. Source: State of the state address to Kansas legislature

Adam Schiff on Health Care : Jan 1, 2001
Let patients and doctors decide; preserve Medicare

HMO REFORM: Supports the “Patients Bill of Rights” to make sure critical health care decisions are made by patients and thier doctors - not insurance company executives.

MEDICARE: Will work to preserve Medicare without unnecessary cuts in benefits.

Click for Adam Schiff on other issues. Source: Campaign web site AdamSchiff2000.com

Donny DiFrancesco on Health Care : Dec 25, 2000
More funds for senior prescriptions, charity care, Medicaid

S6: “Senior Gold Prescription Discount Act.”
S15: Increases physician fee-for-service Medicaid reimbursement rates; appropriates $7 million in State funds and $7 million in federal funds.
S17: Increases annual charity care amount to $345 million and appropriates $30 million in State and federal funds to increase Medicaid fee-for-service hospital rates.

Click for Donny DiFrancesco on other issues. Source: New Jersey congressional voting records

George W. Bush on Principles & Values : Dec 13, 2000
Together, we can unite and accomplish goals

Together, guided by a spirit of common sense, common courtesy and common goals, we can unite and inspire the American citizens.
Together, we will work to make all our public schools excellent, so that no child is left behind.
Together we will save Social Security and renew its promise of a secure retirement for generations to come.
Together we will strengthen Medicare and offer prescription drug coverage to all of our seniors.
Together we will give Americans the broad, fair and fiscally responsible tax relief they deserve.
Together we’ll have a bipartisan foreign policy true to our values & true to our friends, and we will have a military equal to every challenge & superior to every adversary.
Together we will address some of society’s deepest problems one person at a time, by encouraging and empowering the good hearts and good works of the American people.
This is the essence of compassionate conservatism and it will be a foundation of my administration.

Click for George W. Bush on other issues. Source: Acceptance speech in Austin TX

Zell Miller on Health Care : Nov 7, 2000
Use budget surplus to fund senior prescription drugs

I will work to expand Medicare to cover the cost of prescription drugs, so seniors don’t have to choose between paying their rent and buying the prescription drugs they need. Part of the surplus would be used to begin doing this for low-income seniors in 2001 and would be fully implemented forall by 2008. Government would pay 50 percent up to maximum of $2000 when the program starts, increasing to $5000 by 2008. Click for Zell Miller on other issues. Source: AARP interview: AARP Voters Guides

Natural Law Party on Health Care : Nov 7, 2000
Save Medicare by rewarding good health & providing choice

We support financial incentives that will prevent abuse of the health care system. These include medical savings accounts for Medicare and Medicaid subscribers, which will provide financial rewards for good health & vouchers enabling Medicare and Medicaid subscribers to choose any insurance plan or provider they desire. Through our approach of preventive health care and financial incentives, we can rescue Medicare and Medicaid from bankruptcy & save $500 billion a year in health care costs. Click for Natural Law Party on other issues. Source: Natural Law Party Platform 2000

Natural Law Party on Health Care : Nov 7, 2000
Focus on prevention and reward good health

Support prevention, thereby shifting our focus from disease to health. Recent research shows that 70% of diseases in America are caused by an epidemic of unhealthy habits. Support the introduction of financial incentives that will prevent abuse of the system, including (1) medical savings accounts for Medicare and Medicaid subscribers, which will provide financial rewards for good health; and (2) vouchers enabling Medicare and Medicaid enrollees to choose any insurance or provider they desire. Click for Natural Law Party on other issues. Source: Natural Law Party’s “50-point Action Plan”

John Ashcroft on Health Care : Nov 7, 2000
Medicare lockbox; more funding too

SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE

Authored and passed the first Medicare Lockbox to prevent Washington spending raids on the Medicare Trust Fund.
Helped to secure increased Medicare funding, resulting in an average increase to Medicare recipients of $1,725 per person.
Successfully worked to extend solvency of Social Security and Medicare, with Medicare solvency extended by 23 years to 2025, and Social Security by 8 years, to 2037.

Click for John Ashcroft on other issues. Source: JohnAshcroft.org, campaign web site

Al Gore on Families & Children : Nov 6, 2000
Fiscal discipline helps single people as well as families

Q: What is one example of something in your plans that would improve opportunities for single adults past their college years?

A:In just a few days, Americans will have a choice between two very different visions for America. My vision is of responsible tax cuts targeted to help the middle-class, paying down the national debt to strengthen Social Security, Medicare and our economy and making key investments in education, health care, law enforcement and the environment. Single adults will benefit from my plan to ensure that Social Security is there when they retire, while creating a new 401 (k)-style investment plan to help people save for retirement, buy a first home or get new job training. They will benefit from good new jobs that result from fiscal discipline and key investments in new technologies. And they will have an easier time buying a home or paying off student loans, as we eliminate the national debt to keep down interest rates.

Click for Al Gore on other issues. Source: Associated Press

Jean Carnahan on Tax Reform : Nov 5, 2000
Targeted tax cuts to working families

We [should] invest in our future, [with] a real patients’ bill of rights, and a prescription drug under Medicare, and that it was important to give targeted tax cuts to working families so they could send their child to school or they could care for an elderly parent or buy a home. I would have an additional commitment to some things involving women. I’m very concerned about breast cancer research, pay equity, child care. I would carry that additional commitment and even more intensely. Click for Jean Carnahan on other issues. Source: This Week with Cokie Roberts

Jean Carnahan on Health Care : Nov 5, 2000
Medicare Rx plan;more breast cancer research

John Ashcroft on Social Security : Nov 5, 2000
Architect of the Social Security lockbox

After [Mel Carnahan’s death], we began to focus just on the issues that are very important to people. Better and safer schools through a classroom trust fund, and issues like the lockbox for Social Security.

I believe the people are going to respond constructively to issues like securing Social Security in the lockbox. You know, I’m the architect of the lockbox, and we need to extend that, and extend the ability of Medicare to deal with older citizens by giving them prescription drug coverage.

Click for John Ashcroft on other issues. Source: ABC This Week with Cokie Roberts

Jean Carnahan on Health Care : Nov 4, 2000
Supports Patient Bill of Rights

Jean Carnahan made speeches several days a week on her husband’s Senate campaign trail and worked on state legislation for better health care and education. She advocated the Equal Rights Amendment, gun control, & workplace child-care centers. “Democrats in Washington are struggling to save Social Security, to strengthen Medicare, to pay down the national debt, to provide a patient’s bill of rights and to give targeted tax cuts that don’t harm services to the neediest in our society,” she said. Click for Jean Carnahan on other issues. Source: Kevin Murphy, The Kansas City Star

George W. Bush on Principles & Values : Nov 3, 2000
They have not led. We will.

said, “We’ll say you can have other options, you know why? Because we trust you.”

[Bush concluded by echoing his nomination speech theme], again hitting Gore on the Clinton-Gore administration’s record on Medicare and Social Security: “On all the big issues facing this country, our message on November 7 will be loud and clear: You’ve had your chance. You have not led, and we will.”

Click for George W. Bush on other issues. Source: CNN.com report from West Allis, WI

Zell Miller on Health Care : Oct 30, 2000
Guarantee Rx drug for all seniors under Medicare

Q: What about prescription medicine?

A: In America, no one should have to choose between medicine and food. I want to see a guaranteed prescription drug benefit for all seniors under Medicare. There’s a bipartisan plan in the Senate that I am co-sponsoring that is better than either plan being offered by the presidential candidates. It helps seniors get their drugs more quickly and with less red tape than the Bush plan, and it gives more choice with less expense than the Gore plan.

Click for Zell Miller on other issues. Source: The Macon (GA) Telegraph

Al Gore on Health Care : Oct 17, 2000
Drug companies spend more on ads than on research

Q: What about expensive prescription drugs?

BUSH: Step one is to reform the Medicare system. I want to call upon Republicans and Democrats to take care of a senior prescription drug program. I think it’s important to have what’s called Immediate Helping Hand, which is direct money to states so seniors don’t have to chose between food and medicine.

GORE: I have never been afraid to take on the big drug companies. They are now spending more money on advertising than they are on research. They’re trying to artificially extend the monopoly so they can keep charging high prices. I want to streamline the approval of generic drugs so that we bring the price down. I proposed a prescription drug benefit under Medicare. You pick your own doctor and the doctor chooses the prescription and nobody can overrule your doctor. You go to your own pharmacy and Medicare pays half. If you’re poor, they pay all of it. If you have extraordinarily high costs, then they pay all over $4,000 out of pocket.

Click for Al Gore on other issues. Source: St. Louis debate

George W. Bush on Health Care : Oct 17, 2000
Give states money to help poor seniors buy medicine

Q: What about expensive prescription drugs?

Click for George W. Bush on other issues. Source: St. Louis debate

Al Gore on Health Care : Oct 11, 2000
Claims of Bush’s choices & benefits are underestimated

GORE: A married man, 70 years old, with income of $25,000 a year. under Bush’s plan, would not get one penny for four to five years.

ANALYSIS: This is TRUE if the couple’s annual drug bill does not exceed $6,000. If it did, under Bush’s plan, the government would pay the rest.

GORE: And after 4 to 5 years, they would be forced to go into an HMO or to an insurance company.

ANALYSIS: This is NOT TRUE. They would not be forced into an HMO or private plan-they could choose to remain in Medicare.

Click for Al Gore on other issues. Source: Presidential Debate, Boston Globe, “Number Crunch”, p. A15

George W. Bush on Principles & Values : Oct 11, 2000
The president must have credibility; Gore doesn’t

Q: Do you think the voters should question the Vice President’s credibility?

BUSH: It’s important for the president to be credible with Congress and foreign nations. It’s something people need to consider. I’m going to defend my record against exaggerations. Exaggerations like only 5% of seniors receive benefits under my Medicare package. That’s what he said the other day. That’s simply not the case.

GORE: I got some of the details wrong last week. I’m sorry about that. One of the reasons I regret it is that getting a detail wrong interfered with my point. However many days that young girl in Florida stood in her classroom doesn’t change the fact that there are a lot of overcrowded classrooms in America and we need to do something about that. I can’t promise that I will never get another detail wrong. But I will promise you that I will work my heart out to get the big things right for the American people.

Q: Does that resolve the issue?

BUSH: That’s going to be up to the people.

Click for George W. Bush on other issues. Source: Presidential Debate at Wake Forest

Al Gore on Principles & Values : Oct 11, 2000
Promises to get the big things right; sorry for exaggerating

Q: Do you think the voters should question the Vice President’s credibility?

Q: Does that resolve the issue?

BUSH: That’s going to be up to the people.

Click for Al Gore on other issues. Source: (X-ref Bush) Presidential Debate at Wake Forest

Rick Lazio on Health Care : Oct 8, 2000
Give uninsured employees a deduction to pay for health care

Q: Would you support a universal health care bill?

CLINTON: We need to take step-by-step progress toward providing insurance for every American. I’d expand the Children’s Health Insurance Program. I’d allow people between 55 and 65 to buy into Medicare. I want to see mental health considered on parity. He’s opposed the “patients’ bill of rights” that is supported in a bipartisan coalition, as well as by 300 medical and health groups. And he’s gone for the GOP version of the prescription drug benefit, which wouldn’t cover 650,000 New Yorkers.

LAZIO: Mrs. Clinton’s plan in 1993 would have been an unmitigated disaster. No New Yorker would ever have written a bill that would have led to 75,000 jobs being destroyed, health care rationing and the destruction of many of our teaching hospitals. I have supported doubling the amount of money that we spend on health care research. I have voted for deductibility for those employees who are not covered by an employer’s plan.

Click for Rick Lazio on other issues. Source: (X-ref Hillary) Senate debate in Manhattan

Hillary Clinton on Health Care : Oct 8, 2000
Health goal is affordable coverage for all

Q: Would you support a universal health care bill?

Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues. Source: Senate debate in Manhattan

Hillary Clinton on Principles & Values : Oct 8, 2000
Get New York a fair share of budget surplus & Medicaid

Q: As a junior senator, will you be able to ensure that N.Y. will receive its fair share of federal aid?

CLINTON: One of the issues I’ve been talking about is how we can get more of New York’s fair share. We have a chance to do that because we have a surplus. One of the biggest injustices is the Medicaid formula. I’ve come forward with a plan that would get us more money. I look forward to working with Chuck Schumer. I would be a vigorous proponent of what we need.

Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues. Source: Senate debate in Manhattan

George W. Bush on Health Care : Oct 3, 2000
Medicare Rx plan: immediate help, then senior choice

GORE (to Bush): Under the Medicare prescription drug proposal I’m making, here’s how it works: You go to your own doctor and your doctor chooses your prescription, and no HMO or insurance company can take those choices away from you. Then you go to your own pharmacy, you fill the prescription and Medicare pays half the cost. If you’re in a very poor family or you have very high costs, Medicare will pay all the costs, a $25 premium and much better benefits than you can possibly find in the private sector.

BUSH: I’ve got a plan on Medicare that’s a two-stage plan that says we’re going to have immediate help for seniors in what I call “Immediate Helping Hand,” a $48 billion program. [Then,] seniors are going to have not only a Medicare plan where the poor seniors will have their prescriptions paid for, but there will be a variety of options. My plan not only trusts seniors with options, my plan sets aside $3.4 trillion for Medicare over the next 10 years.

Click for George W. Bush on other issues. Source: Presidential debate, Boston MA

Al Gore on Health Care : Oct 3, 2000
Medicare Rx plan: you choose, Medicare pays

GORE: Under the Medicare prescription drug proposal I’m making, here’s how it works: You go to your own doctor and your doctor chooses your prescription, and no HMO or insurance company can take those choices away from you. Then you go to your own pharmacy, you fill the prescription and Medicare pays half the cost. If you’re in a very poor family or you have very high costs, Medicare will pay all the costs, a $25 premium and much better benefits than you can possibly find in the private sector.

Click for Al Gore on other issues. Source: (X-ref Bush) Presidential debate, Boston MA

Al Gore on Government Reform : Oct 3, 2000
Use historic surplus to balance budget and help middle class

Q: What are the choices facing people in November?

GORE: We’ve got the biggest surplus in history. Will we use that prosperity wisely in a way that benefits all of our people and doesn’t go just to the few? I think we have to invest in education, protecting the environment, health care, a prescription drug benefit that goes to all seniors, not just to the poor; under Medicare, not relying on HMOs and insurance companies. I think that we have to help parents and strengthen families. I think we have got to have welfare reform taken to the next stage. I think that we have got to balance the budget every single year.

BUSH: He’s going to grow the federal government in the largest increase since Johnson in 1965. We’re talking about a massive government, folks. We’re talking about adding to or increasing 200 new programs, 20,000 new bureaucrats. Imagine how many IRS agents it’s going to take to be able to figure out his targeted tax cut for the middle class that excludes 50 million Americans.

Click for Al Gore on other issues. Source: Presidential debate, Boston MA

George W. Bush on Government Reform : Oct 3, 2000
Gore plan will lead to massive government and bureaucracy

Q: What are the choices facing people in November?

Click for George W. Bush on other issues. Source: (X-ref Gore) Presidential debate, Boston MA

Al Gore on Health Care : Oct 3, 2000
Put Medicare in lockbox so seniors can afford prescriptions

GORE: I will put Medicare in a lockbox. Under the governor’s plan, if you kept the same fee-for-service that you have now under Medicare, your premiums would go up by between 18 and 47%. There’s a man here named George McKinney. He’s 70 years old, he has high blood pressure, his wife has heart trouble. They have income of $25,000 a year. They cannot pay for their prescription drugs. Under my plan, half of their costs would be paid right away. Under Bush’s plan, they would get not one penny for four to five years, and then they would be forced to go into an HMO or to an insurance company, but there would be no limit on the premiums or the deductibles.

BUSH: I cannot let this go, the “We’re going to scare you in the voting booth.” Under my plan, the man gets immediate help with prescription drugs. It’s called “Immediate Helping Hand.”

GORE: If you make more than $25,000 a year, you don’t get a penny of help under the Bush prescription drug proposal for at least four to five years.

Click for Al Gore on other issues. Source: Presidential debate, Boston MA

Al Gore on Health Care : Sep 30, 2000
Cover 12 million uninsured at a 10-year cost of $157 billion

Cover 12 million uninsured at a 10-year cost of $157 billion
proposes to extend health insurance to the uninsured by expanding the State-Children’s Insurance Program (S-CHIP) to include both more children and also their parents.
wants to change the Medicare rules to let Americans buy into the program with the help of a 25% tax credit, ten years earlier than they can now. Estimates for costs and coverage are 12 million more Americans insured, at a cost of $157 billion over ten years.
proposes providing a subsidized prescription drug benefit to all enrolled in Medicare, administered through the existing Medicare system. Estimated costs: $253 billion over ten years.
supports a patients’ bill of rights which extends broad rights such as guaranteed access to specialists and the ability to sue negligent health plans.

Click for Al Gore on other issues. Source: The Economist, “Issues 2000”

Al Gore on Abortion : Sep 30, 2000
Opposes partial birth abortion, but opposes banning it

Gore’s approach to abortion is just as pragmatic as Bush’s. As a Congressman for a conservative Tennessee district, he cast more votes against abortion than in favor. But as he became a national figure he changed his position, and now claims that he will do everything in his power to prevent Roe v. Wade from being overturned. Gore:

opposes parental-notification laws

Opposes partial birth abortion, but also opposes Republican attempts to ban it

supports Medicaid funding of abortion. Click for Al Gore on other issues. Source: The Economist, “Issues 2000” special

Al Gore on Health Care : Sep 25, 2000
Stronger penalties for HMOs who drop seniors

“I won’t go along with plans that would force (seniors) into HMOs. The other side has called Medicare a ‘government HMO.’ We will no longer just accept the rising wave of HMOs dropping seniors and denying them coverage, all to enhance their bottom line.’’ He proposed doubling the minimum requirement for HMOs contracting with the government to provide health care to the elderly and disabled in Medicare. He also would double the penalty for HMOs who drop patients. Click for Al Gore on other issues. Source: AP Story, NY Times

Al Gore on Health Care : Sep 23, 2000
Protect Medicare’s funds with “lockbox”

Takes the entire Medicare surplus ($360 billion over ten years) and places it in a lockbox;
Ensures that Medicare payroll taxes only go for Medicare and paying down the federal debt;
Uses the interest savings from debt reduction to keep Medicare solvent until at least 2030.

Click for Al Gore on other issues. Source: Medicare at a Crossroads, page 5

Al Gore on Health Care : Sep 23, 2000
Modernize Medicare with choice, efficiency, competition

Letting seniors make choices about their health coverage;
Making sure seniors can choose their own doctor;
Increasing price competition;
Cracking down on fraud;
Introducing new management techniques;
Protecting choice by increasing penalties for HMOs that cherry pick [choosing healthy patients over riskier patients]

Click for Al Gore on other issues. Source: Medicare at a Crossroads, page 6

Al Gore on Health Care : Sep 23, 2000
Encourage competition, ensure choice, stop abuses

The plan would have health providers compete for the business of seniors on the basis of both quality and price. The plan will also crack down on fraud, waste, and abuse and take steps to rationalize cost sharing, reform Medigap, and ensure adequate provider payment rates. The plan will make Medicare more competitive by ensuring choice, and it will make it harder for HMOs to drop seniors and will forbid “cherry-picking.” Click for Al Gore on other issues. Source: Medicare at a Crossroads, page 45

Al Gore on Health Care : Sep 23, 2000
Free preventive cancer screenings for Medicare beneficiaries

In order to eliminate financial barriers to critical preventive services, the Gore plan eliminates the Part B deductible and co-payment for Medicare preventive services: hepatitis B vaccination, colorectal cancer screening, bone mass measurements, prostate cancer screening, diabetes self-management benefits, pelvic exams, and screening mammograms. Click for Al Gore on other issues. Source: Medicare at a Crossroads, page 39-40

Al Gore on Health Care : Sep 23, 2000
Allow 55-65 year olds to buy into Medicare

Gore believes that many Americans between the ages of 55-65 - the fastest growing group of uninsured in the country and some of the most vulnerable to the vagaries of the private market - should be able to buy into Medicare. Click for Al Gore on other issues. Source: Medicare at a Crossroads, page 36

Al Gore on Health Care : Sep 23, 2000
Too many seniors have to choose between drugs and rent

When Medicare was created, prescription drugs were not considered an essential part of American health care. Today, they are at the core of medical treatment. And yet, nearly half of all Medicare beneficiaries go without prescription drug coverage. Older Americans who lack prescription drug coverage typically pay 15% more for drugs than insurers who can negotiate price discounts. At this time of great prosperity, it is unacceptable that so many seniors have to choose between medicine and food and rent. Click for Al Gore on other issues. Source: Medicare at a Crossroads, page 28

George W. Bush on Health Care : Sep 17, 2000
Blueprint: Senior choice; Rx benefit; tax breaks

Modernize Medicare.Give seniors a greater choice in plans with more options & access to the latest medical technology.
Provide a prescription drug benefit now.Underwrite at least 25% of the cost of prescription drug premiums for all seniors.
Provide catastrophic Medicare coverage. Ensure seniors suffering from life-threatening illnesses will never pay more than $6,000 annually for Medicare costs.
Provide patients a bill of rights.Provide patient protections, like those in Texas, to ensure quality of care from health care providers.
Provide access to health care for the uninsured and underserved.Refundable health credit of $2,000 to help purchase health insurance. Commit $3.6 billion over five years to build 1,200 new Community Health Centers.
Support caregivers and long-term care. Additional exemption ($2,750 in 2000) for each elderly relative; plus 100% tax deduction for long-term care insurance premiums.

Click for George W. Bush on other issues. Source: Blueprint for the Middle Class

Hillary Clinton on Principles & Values : Sep 13, 2000
Hillary: Lazio has chutzpah to call himself “mainstream”

CLINTON: Listening to the congressman’s response, reminds me of a word I’ve heard a lot of this past year: chutzpah. He stands here and tells us that he’s a moderate, mainstream, independent member of Congress. Well, in fact he was a deputy whip to Newt Gingrich. He voted to shut the government down. He voted to cut $270 billion from Medicare. He voted for the biggest education cuts in our history. Time and time again when he’s had a choice to make, particularly at the critical turning point, when our country was really on the line with Newt Gingrich’s Contract With America, he stood with the Republican leadership and Newt Gingrich.

LAZIO: Mrs. Clinton’s last remark has to redefine the word chutzpah. Mrs. Clinton, you, of all people, shouldn’t try to make guilt by association. Newt Gingrich isn’t running in this race, I’m running in this race. Let’s talk about my record. Let’s lower taxes. Let’s deregulate energy. And let’s build on my work in Congress already to get the job done.

Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues. Source: Clinton-Lazio debate, Buffalo NY

Rick Lazio on Principles & Values : Sep 13, 2000
Lazio: Hillary has chutzpah to make guilt by association

Click for Rick Lazio on other issues. Source: Clinton-Lazio debate, Buffalo NY

Jon Corzine on Social Security : Sep 12, 2000
Commit funds to secure Medicare & Soc. Sec. “absolutely”

We must commit enough of the federal surplus to save Social Security and to protect Medicare. And we must be bold: Long term care for seniors who need it must be secured as a fundamental right, not a privilege for the wealthy.

Save Social Security Absolutely
Save Medicare Absolutely
Universal Long Term Care
Make Pensions Universally Portable

Click for Jon Corzine on other issues. Source: Web site www.votecorzine.org

John Ashcroft on Health Care : Sep 9, 2000
$150M for basic health care for uninsured

A. Because of our state’s limited government resources, it is important to focus on children whose families cannot afford health insurance. I support initiatives that give uninsured families more options to obtain health insurance, such as allowing full deductibility for health insurance costs for families headed by self-employed individuals, and health insurance tax deductions/credits for families who cannot obtain coverage from an employer. I continue to strongly support funding increases for consolidated health centers, which give uninsured individuals - including children - access to basic health care. Most recently I called for a $150 million increase in community health centers funding for FY2001.

Click for John Ashcroft on other issues. Source: NACHRI Interview (ChildrensHospitals.net/nachri)

Lauren Beth Gash on Social Security : Sep 9, 2000
Fight any attempts to reduce benefits or privatize

Millions of Americans have worked their entire lives and paid into Social Security- they have earned their retirement benefits. Now there are proposals to raise the retirement age to receive benefits, and gamble Social Security Trust Funds in risky stocks on Wall Street. Lauren supports using the federal budget surplus to protect Social Security and Medicare. She will fight any attempts to raise the eligibility age to receive Social Security and any proposal to privatize the program. Click for Lauren Beth Gash on other issues. Source: www.laurenbethgash.com/

Lauren Beth Gash on Health Care : Sep 9, 2000
Comprehensive Medicare prescription drug coverage

Lauren supports creating a comprehensive Medicare prescription drug coverage benefit and requiring pharmaceutical companies to offer prescription drugs to seniors at the same discount rates they offer the big insurance companies. Click for Lauren Beth Gash on other issues. Source: www.laurenbethgash.com/

Ralph Nader on Health Care : Sep 8, 2000
Medicare prescriptions covered under universal health care

Q: Would elderly people with low incomes get all the prescription drugs they need at no cost to them under your proposals?

A: Yes, under a system of universal health care. Price restraints should be placed on all drugs especially developed with taxpayer money, and multiple licenses should be issued for those drugs in order to stimulate competition and bring prices down. The Medicare authorities should negotiate lower drug prices, as the V.A. and the Pentagon are already doing.

Click for Ralph Nader on other issues. Source: Associated Press

John Hagelin on Health Care : Sep 8, 2000
80% reimbursement for Medicare prescriptions

Q: Would elderly people with low incomes get all the prescription drugs they need at no cost to them under your proposals?

A: My Medicare policy includes 80% reimbursements for those prescription drugs that have been scientifically proven to be effective. Medicare will negotiate the lowest prices for drugs: My prescription drug benefit will not become a form of corporate welfare for the pharmaceutical industry - nor lead to over-prescription of drugs.

Click for John Hagelin on other issues. Source: Associated Press

Al Gore on Education : Sep 8, 2000
$36B for tuition after saving Medicare & Social Security

Gore told an audience that he hoped to boost college attendance and graduation rates by making college tuition tax-deductible, giving tax credits and deductions for college savings and keeping interest rates low for student loans. The full tuition strategy could cost the government as much as $36 billion. Immediate preservation of the Social Security and Medicare programs would ensure that education stayed a viable government priority leading into the next decade and beyond. Click for Al Gore on other issues. Source: CNN.com

Al Gore on Health Care : Sep 6, 2000
$253B for Medicare prescriptions & subsidized premiums

Medicare reform compared	Gore’s plan	Bush’s plan
Premiums	Start at $25 per month, increasing to $44 by 2008.	Will be determined by individual private health insurance companies, with higher premiums for more extensive coverage.
Projected Cost	$253 billion over 10 years	$158 billion over 10 years, of which $48 billion would go for immediate prescription aid by 2004.

Click for Al Gore on other issues. Source: Boston Globe, p. A8

George W. Bush on Health Care : Sep 6, 2000
$158B for Medicare prescriptions & subsidized premiums

Medicare reform compared	Gore’s plan	Bush’s plan
Premiums	Start at $25 per month, increasing to $44 by 2008.	Will be determined by individual private health insurance companies, with higher premiums for more extensive coverage.
Projected Cost	$253 billion over 10 years	$158 billion over 10 years, of which $48 billion would go for immediate prescription aid by 2004.

Click for George W. Bush on other issues. Source: Boston Globe, p. A8

George W. Bush on Health Care : Sep 5, 2000
All seniors entitled to Medicare; poor seniors subsidized

We will keep the guarantee of health care security. Every senior will be entitled to the current set of Medicare benefits.
We will give all seniors a number of additional options, so they can choose a better policy that meets their indvidual needs.
Every health plan that participates in Medicare must also offer a policy that includes prescription drugs.
Seniors with incomes less than $11,300-couples making less than $15,200-will pay no premium for their medical insurance, and will get prescription drug coverage at no cost.
Those just above that income level will get a substantial subsidy to help them afford prescription coverage.
All seniors will get help with at least 25% of their premiums for prescription drug coverage.
All Medicare policies will be approved by the federal government, to ensure that the proper benefits are offered.
No age increase. No tax increase. That is my commitment to the American people.

Click for George W. Bush on other issues. Source: Speech “Modernizing Medicare,” Allentown, PA

George W. Bush on Health Care : Sep 5, 2000
Give seniors choice, not bureaucrats; give incentives too

Seniors can stay in the current Medicare system, or choose another basic plan, for no cost at all. Or they can choose to pay a little more for a plan with additional benefits.
If seniors are not happy with the service they receive, they can simply change their policy. This is the best way to make a health bureaucracy responsive - by giving customers the freedom to choose.
Government regulators will no longer be making decisions about health coverage, which slows the adoption of new medical technologies. So seniors will see medical advances covered by their insurance more quickly.
This plan will mean that every low to moderate income senior in America will be able to afford prescription benefits. Every single one.
This modernization will make Medicare economically stable in the future - strengthening the program for current seniors and preserving it for the next generation.

Click for George W. Bush on other issues. Source: Speech “Modernizing Medicare,” Allentown, PA

George W. Bush on Health Care : Sep 5, 2000
Second bill to Congress: $48B for immediate Rx help

During the transition to better Medicare coverage, we will provide $12 billion a year in direct aid to low-income seniors. My plan sets aside $158 billion additional dollars for Medicare over the next ten years. Four years to provide “An Immediate Helping Hand,” and an additional $110 billion for Medicare modernization. I have said that education reform will be the first bill I propose to Congress. The measure I am proposing today-immediate prescription drugs for seniors-will be my second bill. Click for George W. Bush on other issues. Source: Speech “Modernizing Medicare,” Allentown, PA

George W. Bush on Health Care : Sep 5, 2000
Choice of Medicare, free equivalent, or adding own $

[Seniors under Bush’s Medicare plan] will have a system with a proven track record. Nine million federal employees already have a similar plan. Seniors will get a book each year, listing all the health plans, and comparing their benefits. Seniors can stay in the current Medicare system, with no changes. They can choose another basic plan, for no cost at all. Or they can choose to pay a little more for a plan with additional benefits. And every low income senior will get a high-option plan for free. Click for George W. Bush on other issues. Source: Speech “Modernizing Medicare,” Allentown, PA

Joseph Lieberman on Health Care : Aug 31, 2000
Voted to cut Medicare & raise age; now would not

Gore rejected the majority conclusions reached last year by a bipartisan commission on Medicare, saying he would not support raising the Medicare eligibility age to 67 from 65, forcing the elderly into managed care, or raising premiums and co-payments.

One of those who has supported such measures in the past is Lieberman, who sided with Republicans in several balanced-budget votes in 1997 to raise the eligibility age and to impose increases in premiums and fees for some Medicare recipients. “It is important to put these votes in context,“ said Lieberman’s spokesman. ”At the time projections were that the system would be bankrupt in four or five years. Senator Lieberman and a lot of other people saw it as necessary to salvage the program.“

Lieberman voted last year against the recommendations of the bipartisan commission to further restrict eligibility and allow some additional charges for recipients. ”His recent record shows he’s very much in synch with the vice president,“ he said.

Click for Joseph Lieberman on other issues. Source: Kevin Sack & James Dao, NY Times

Al Gore on Tax Reform : Aug 31, 2000
Yes, it’s your money-but it’s your programs too

“The other side has placed its top priority on taking virtually all of this projected surplus and giving it all in the form of a giant tax cut, mainly to the wealthy,” Gore said. “And their theory is that’s going to be good for the country, and they say it’s your money. Well, it is your money. But it’s your Medicare, it’s your Social Security, it’s your environment, it’s your school system, it’s your country.” Click for Al Gore on other issues. Source: Kevin Sack & James Dao, NY Times

Al Gore on Health Care : Aug 31, 2000
1997 Medicare cuts went too far-put back $339B

Gore renewed his call today for spending $339 billion over 10 years to add a prescription drug benefit to the Medicare program and to restore Medicare financing to teaching hospitals, nursing homes, rural hospitals, home health care aides, and rehabilitative services. Money for those programs was cut under the 1997 balanced budget act, and Gore said today that those reductions “went too far.” Click for Al Gore on other issues. Source: Kevin Sack & James Dao, NY Times

Ezola Foster on Social Security : Aug 29, 2000
Help people without dependency: transition to IRAs

Q: What is the Buchanan/Foster plan for seniors on Medicare?

A: We want to protect seniors who are already on Medicare as well as getting Social Security. We want to take a look at that entire system and we will decide the best means to helping the people in most need whether they are seniors or young families. There is a way to help people without causing dependency. We support portable and private affordable solutions. We would guarantee benefits already promised to seniors and we would stop the raid on the trust fund and we would encourage employees to devote part of their earnings to Social Security alone. We would work with Congress to secure the system while allowing workers to transition to individual retirement accounts.

Click for Ezola Foster on other issues. Source: (X-ref Health) “Free Media”, Washington Post

Ezola Foster on Health Care : Aug 29, 2000
Portable and private affordable Medicare solutions

Q: What is the Buchanan/Foster plan for seniors on Medicare?

Click for Ezola Foster on other issues. Source: Interview on “Free Media”, Washington Post

Al Gore on Social Security : Aug 18, 2000
Dedicate the budget surplus first to saving Social Security

I will not go along with any proposal to strip one out of every six dollars from the Social Security trust fund and privatize the Social Security that you’re counting on. That’s Social Security minus. Our plan is Social Security plus. We will balance the budget every year, and dedicate the budget surplus first to saving Social Security. Putting both Social Security and Medicare in an iron-clad lock box where the politicians can’t touch them -- to me, that kind of common sense is a family value. Click for Al Gore on other issues. Source: Speech to the Democratic National Convention

Bill Bradley on Health Care : Aug 15, 2000
Mandatory insurance for children, at birth, federally paid

When we enacted Medicare, we made a bold commitment to senior citizens. We need to make a similar commitment to our children. To fulfill this commitment, every child should be enrolled in a health insurance program from the moment of birth. Just as new parents must fill out a birth certificate and a Social Security form before leaving the hospital, they should also be required to enroll their newborn in one of the many children’s health insurance plans. Children who slip through the cracks could be enrolled at their first point of contact with the health care system, at day care, or upon entry to school.

I believe the federal government should pay all or part of the health insurance costs for children in families with incomes under $50,000 a year. That’s about 54% of all children, including millions from middle-income families who worry constantly about medical costs.

Click for Bill Bradley on other issues. Source: The Journey From Here, by Bill Bradley, p. 30

Democratic Party on Health Care : Aug 15, 2000
Add prescription drug benefit to Medicare

It is time we ended the tragedy of elderly Americans being forced to choose between meals and medication. It is time we modernized Medicare with a prescription drug benefit. With the number of Americans on Medicare expected to double in the next 35 years, Al Gore has taken responsibility by proposing a Medicare Lock Box that would insure Medicare surpluses are used for Medicare. Click for Democratic Party on other issues. Source: Democratic National Platform

Democratic Party on Health Care : Aug 15, 2000
Every American should have affordable health insurance

We must redouble efforts to bring the uninsured into coverage. We should guarantee access to affordable health care for every child. We should expand coverage to working families. We seek to ensure that dislocated workers are provided affordable care. We should make health care affordable for small businesses. In addition, Americans aged 55 to 65 should be allowed to buy into the Medicare program to get the coverage they need. Click for Democratic Party on other issues. Source: Democratic National Platform

Bill Bradley on Civil Rights : Aug 15, 2000
Quest for racial unity is a defining moral issue

The quest for racial unity remains the defining moral issue of our time. It’s one of the reasons I first ran for public office. The work I did helping expand Medicaid for women and children who are poor, to raise the Earned Income Tax Credit, to reduce infant mortality, to assure child support enforcement, to protect federal aid to school districts that serve the poor, and to support every piece of civil rights legislation that came through the Senate all flowed from my convictions about racial unity. Click for Bill Bradley on other issues. Source: The Journey From Here, by Bill Bradley, p. 49

Republican Party on Health Care : Aug 12, 2000
A reformed Medicare will give seniors choice, flexibility

Give older Americans access to the insurance plan Congress has, including medical savings accounts. Build on the strengths of the free market system, offer seniors real choices, and make sure there are incentives for the private sector to develop drugs. No more one-size-fits-all. Medicare also needs new measures of solvency. We must reduce the administrative complexities. A reformed Medicare program will provide reimbursement at levels that will permit providers to continue to care for patients. Click for Republican Party on other issues. Source: Republican Platform adopted at GOP National Convention

Dick Cheney on Health Care : Jul 26, 2000
Prescription drug benefits for Medicare recipients

Cheney said he opposed some worthy social programs while in Congress because the country couldn’t afford them, given budget deficits and the need to increase military spending to fight the Cold War. Given the current economic climate, Cheney said: “We’re now in a position to be able to look at doing some things from the compassionate standpoint.” He mentioned prescription drug benefits for Medicare recipients, something his fellow conservatives fought for some time before offering a plan of their own. Cheney said he opposed some worthy social programs while in Congress because the country couldn’t afford them, given budget deficits and the need to increase military spending to fight the Cold War. Given the current economic climate, Cheney said: “We’re now in a position to be able to look at doing some things from the compassionate standpoint.” He mentioned prescription drug benefits for Medicare recipients, something his fellow conservatives fought for some time before offering a plan of their own. Click for Dick Cheney on other issues. Source: D. Ian Hopper, Associated Press

George W. Bush on Principles & Values : Jul 25, 2000
Picked Cheney as a valuable partner and fully capable

I asked Dick Cheney whether he’d be willing to join me to accomplish some great goals for our country: to save and strengthen Social Security; to improve Medicare and provide prescription drugs for the elderly; to reform our public schools; and to rebuild our military to keep the peace.

Early this morning I called and asked him to join me in renewing America’s purpose together. So I’m proud to announce that Dick Cheney, a man of great integrity, sound judgment and experience, is my choice to be the next vice president of the United States.

I have to admit something. I didn’t pick Dick Cheney because of Wyoming’s three electoral votes, although we’re going to work hard to earn them. I picked him because he is without a doubt fully capable of being the president of the United States. And I picked him because he will be a valuable partner in a Bush administration.

Click for George W. Bush on other issues. Source: Statement on Vice Presidential selection

Dick Cheney on Principles & Values : Jul 25, 2000
Accepts nomination help change tone in Washington

Three months ago, when Governor Bush asked me to head up his search team I honestly did not expect that I would be standing here today.

Governor, I’m honored and proud to join your team and I enthusiastically accept the challenge for this reason: I believe you have the vision and the courage to be a great president.

Governor Bush is seeking not only to win an election, but also to lead our nation. He’s confronting the tough issues: strengthening Social Security and Medicare, reforming our public schools, cutting taxes and rebuilding America’s military.

I look forward to working with you, governor, to change the tone in Washington, to restore a spirit of civility and respect and cooperation. It’s time for America’s leaders to stop pointing the finger of blame and to begin sharing the credit for success. Big changes are coming to Washington, and I want to be a part of them.

Click for Dick Cheney on other issues. Source: Statement on Vice Presidential selection

Jim Jeffords on Social Security : Jul 2, 2000
Raise FICA on rich; support lock-box

Require individuals to pay the Social Security tax on incomes above $68,400 (which is currently exempt).
Support a lock box measure, limiting Congress’s ability to spend Social Security and Medicare surpluses on any other federal programs except Social Security and Medicare, until each program’s long-term solvency is guaranteed.

Click for Jim Jeffords on other issues. Source: vote-smart.org 2000 NPAT

Mark Dayton on Health Care : Jul 2, 2000
Expand Medicare Rx coverage & other coverage

My plan for universal health care is based on the belief that our society should provide and finance good health care for all Americans. I support making health insurance premiums tax deductible for individuals and the self-employed immediately. In order to lower the cost of health insurance, purchasing pools would be established. I will continue to support the health care systems we have in place such as Medicaid, Medicare and Veterans health benefits and will work to expand coverage and benefits where most needed. The centerpiece of my agenda is the expansion of Medicare coverage for prescription drugs for all seniors.

My plan will also provide discounts of at least 10% on all prescription drugs so that all Americans will benefit. I believe that efforts should be made to correct the inequities of Medicare reimbursement rates between urban and rural areas.

Click for Mark Dayton on other issues. Source: Minnesota Newspaper Association Election Questionnaire

Al Gore on Health Care : Jul 1, 2000
Curb excess pharmaceutical profits made at consumer expense

Gore cast himself as a longtime critic of what he said were the industry’s excessive prices and profits: “I don’t see myself as a basher of the pharmaceutical companies,” Gore said. “I see myself as opposing the excesses that have accompanied their enormous market power, excesses that have come at the expense of consumers.” With his heightened, anti-industry stand that consumers are “being ripped off” by drug makers, Gore is positioning himself as a champion of a far-reaching Medicare prescription drug benefit for senior citizens. He said the industry’s profits were out of line, and he favors policies that would, in effect, cut into profits and curb prices. For example, Gore said he supported a legislative amendment, requiring drug makers to agree to reasonable prices for treatments invented in collaboration with government scientists. He also supports requiring drug companies to pay a fee to the government for medicines developed with the help of government grants. Click for Al Gore on other issues. Source: Sheryl Gay Stolberg, NY Times

Dick Gephardt on Health Care : Jun 29, 2000
Focus on seniors; no blank checks to insurance companies

Medicare has worked for over 35 years. Gephardt supports a real prescription drug proposal that will ensure that no senior is left out in the cold when it comes to prescription drug coverage. The goal in Congress should not be to write a blank check to insurance companies, with the hope that they will offer coverage in your area at a price that middle-income seniors can afford. Instead, the goal must be to allow every senior the option to enroll in a plan that is affordable, definable, and guaranteed. Click for Dick Gephardt on other issues. Source: Press Release, “Prescription Drug Coverage”

Dick Gephardt on Health Care : Jun 29, 2000
More funding for Meaningful Prescription Drug Coverage

Over one-third of Medicare beneficiaries spend more than $1000 a year on prescription drugs.
Almost two-thirds of Medicare beneficiaries have undependable prescription drug coverage or no coverage at all.
Seniors without coverage pay 140% more for their drugs than drug companies’ most favored customers.

Congressman Gephardt in June introduced H.R. 4770, which would allow all Medicare beneficiaries, regardless of income, the option to enroll in a voluntary Medicare prescription drug benefit program. Under this program, Medicare would initially pay half of all prescription drug costs, up to $2000, and all drug costs over and above $4000. These benefits would increase over time as consumer prices rise in general. Click for Dick Gephardt on other issues. Source: Press Release, “Prescription Drug Coverage”

Al Gore on Health Care : Jun 14, 2000
Health Care Trust Fund to expand coverage

Gore called for the creation of a Health Care Trust Fund to help move toward the day when every American has affordable health coverage. The trust fund would help expand access to affordable coverage to every child and millions of adults. Gore would allow Americans 55 to 65 to buy into Medicare, expand coverage to parents whose children are eligible for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance program, and provide tax credits for small businesses and individuals without job-based health care. Click for Al Gore on other issues. Source: Press Release, “Medicare Lock Box”

Al Gore on Tax Reform : Jun 7, 2000
Help caregivers with tax reform, nursing home alternatives

Provide caregivers with support services, information, and respite. Under Gore’s plan, states would expand the availability of adult day care, respite care and home care services. At least 80% of Gore’s Initiative would be set aside for adult day care, home care coordination and other respite services.
Make tax credit available to Americans with long-term care needs -- and friends and family who care for them.
Make it easier to provide care at home, in the community.

Click for Al Gore on other issues. Source: Press Release, “National Caregiving Initiative”

Al Gore on Health Care : Jun 6, 2000
$30B over 10 years to help families with elder care

Gore called for giving families with long-term care needs and their caregivers a $3,000 tax credit and reforms making it easier for Medicaid to cover care at home and in community settings in addition to nursing homes. The total cost of Gore’s new National Caregiving and Family Support Initiative is nearly $30 billion over ten years. “By making elder-care more affordable, we can strengthen our families across their generations, and honor the parents who did so much to make us what we are today.” Click for Al Gore on other issues. Source: Press Release, “Meet Long-Term Care Needs”

Rick Lazio on Abortion : Jun 4, 2000
No Medicare funds for abortions; OK to fund privately abroad

Lazio has consistently opposed efforts to make abortion illegal. He supported federal criminal penalties for blocking access to abortion clinics, and to allow organizations that provide their own money for abortions in developing countries to be eligible for international family-planning funds. But Lazio has also opposed using federal Medicaid money to pay for abortions for poor women, and he has consistently voted to outlaw the late-term procedure that anti-abortion forces call partial-birth abortion. Click for Rick Lazio on other issues. Source: David Rosenbaum, New York Times

Rick Lazio on Abortion : May 25, 2000
No funding for abortion; but don’t criminalize it

Lazio opposes late-term abortions (called partial-birth abortions by critics) and has voted against government funding for abortions for poor women on Medicaid, women in prison and women in the military. “I do not want to criminalize abortion,” Lazio said in an upstate campaign swing Monday. “On the other hand, I want to make it rarer and I don’t think just because we have a right, that we need to subsidize that right.” Click for Rick Lazio on other issues. Source: Associated Press

Al Gore on Social Security : May 10, 2000
Ensure health care & retirement security for aging veterans

Gore highlighted his record of fighting for veterans and his plans for saving Social Security and strengthening Medicare to ensure health care and retirement security for aging veterans. “We have a responsibility to each and every one of our veterans,” Gore said. “America must do more for those who have risked everything to keep us free. I will fight for an unshakeable national commitment to our veterans.”

Noting the number of Social Security enrollees is expected to double over the next 30 years, Gore highlighted his plan for saving Social Security. Gore’s balanced budget plan uses the entire Social Security surplus, $2.2 trillion over ten years, to improve Social Security and pay down the debt -- and dedicates the billions of dollars in interest saved from debt reduction to shore up the Social Security Trust Fund until at least 2050. Gore would strengthen prescription drug coverage for military retirees, and provide a comprehensive prescription drug plan for all seniors.

Click for Al Gore on other issues. Source: Press Release in Jacksonville, Ark.

Rick Lazio on Health Care : May 9, 2000
Supports Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Act

[With the Breast & Cervical Cancer Treatment Act] we took a substantial stride towards giving thousands of American women the gift of life. No longer will women be consigned to a literal death sentence merely because they cannot afford medical insurance. Congress brought Mothers’ Day a little bit early this year. Today’s legislation provides strong incentives for the individual States to include a Medicaid treatment package for those low-income women who are diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer. Click for Rick Lazio on other issues. Source: Press Release; by Heather O’Farrell

David McReynolds on Welfare & Poverty : May 2, 2000
Housing, food, & health benefits for welfare recipients

Support housing assistance for welfare recipients.
Provide homeless families with apartment vouchers they can use to supplement the cost of an apartment.
Restore food stamp programs to legal immigrants.
Provide continued Medicaid benefits for those welfare recipients who have moved from welfare to work.

Click for David McReynolds on other issues. Source: Vote-Smart.org NPAT questionnaire

David McReynolds on Social Security : May 2, 2000
Supports raising payroll tax; plus Lockbox

Increase the payroll tax to better finance Social Security in its current form.
Support a lock box measure, limiting Congress’s ability to spend Social Security and Medicare surpluses on any other federal programs except Social Security and Medicare, until each program’s long-term solvency is guaranteed.

Click for David McReynolds on other issues. Source: Vote-Smart.org NPAT questionnaire

George W. Bush on Health Care : Apr 2, 2000
Private alternatives & state reforms come first

Strengthen Medicare by providing more choice and more private sector alternatives for the elderly
Supports a prescription drug benefit to Medicare recipients through more options and greater choice of plans; also supports giving financial assistance to poor seniors to help pay for the plans
Supports medical savings accounts as a health insurance option
Opposes legislation that would supersede reforms already enacted by states

Click for George W. Bush on other issues. Source: GeorgeWBush.com: ‘Issues: Policy Points Overview’

Al Gore on Health Care : Mar 1, 2000
$300B over 15 years to keep Medicare solvent

I am deeply committed to keeping Medicare strong for the future. When I became vice president in 1993, the Medicare trust fund was scheduled to run out in 1999. We took steps to keep it strong until 2015. However, given the fact that the number of people on Medicare is scheduled to double over the next few decades, Medicare will need additional resources to keep the trust fund strong for the future. That is why I have proposed devoting nearly $300 billion of the projected budget surplus over the next 15 years to keep Medicare solvent for at least the next quarter century. I also believe we should strengthen Medicare by adding a prescription drug benefit to help Medicare beneficiaries pay for their medicines. My plan has no deductible, and would eliminate cost-sharing and premiums for those living on low incomes. And it would provide additional support for those encountering catastrophic drug costs. Click for Al Gore on other issues. Source: Associated Press, in Brockton (MA) Enterprise, p. B6

George W. Bush on Health Care : Mar 1, 2000
Medicare Rx drug coverage for low-income seniors

Medicare is one of the most important contributions to seniors’ health care ever enacted. I will work to strengthen Medicare by enhancing its financial stability and ensuring seniors have access to more comprehensive coverage better tailored to their health care needs. We now have an inefficient system that is run by a 132,000-page document where the government makes all the decisions. I support increasing competition and giving seniors the right to choose their health care plans that include basic coverage such as prescription drugs. We should also ensure prescription drug coverage is available for low-income seniors who otherwise cannot afford it. Click for George W. Bush on other issues. Source: Associated Press, in Brockton (MA) Enterprise, p. B6

John McCain on Tax Reform : Feb 27, 2000
“Balanced approach”, and starts a flat tax system

McCain’s pitch is that his tax cut plan is modest enough in size that it leaves plenty of money from the surplus tax revenues to deal with other needs. By expanding the 15% bracket to cover millions of additional taxpayers, he says, his plan amounts to a start on creating a system of flatter tax rates.

“I want a balanced approach,” McCain says. “I put a whole lot of money into Social Security, Medicaid, and paying down the debt [and less] money into tax cuts.”

Click for John McCain on other issues. Source: New York Times, p. 22

Al Gore on Tax Reform : Feb 21, 2000
Save Social Security, Medicare, and address debt before cuts

Q: Why won’t the candidates just keep the tax rates the same & pay off the national debt?
A: I think this risky tax scheme is reckless & would be very harmful to our country, because what we need to do instead is to use the surplus to safeguard Social Security first and foremost. Secondly we need to put money from the surplus into the Medicare program to strengthen it before the retirement of the baby boom generation. Then we need to pay down the national debt because that keeps interest rates low. Click for Al Gore on other issues. Source: Democrat debate in Harlem, NYC

Bill Bradley on Health Care : Feb 21, 2000
Pledges better health plan for every Medicaid patient

GORE [to Bradley]: 50% of all of the Americans who have HIV/AIDS now get Medicaid; 90% of all the children with HIV/AIDS get Medicaid. Bradley’s proposal would eliminate the Medicaid program and replace it with a $150-a-month voucher with which you cannot purchase anything like the health care benefits that are now available under Medicaid.

BRADLEY: [For AIDS patients under my plan], it’s the same services, it’s the same benefits. The only difference is that now if you have HIV, you can qualify for insurance. And tonight I pledge that any health care bill that I would sign would have every Medicaid patient on a better health plan than Medicaid is today.

GORE: That’s not a plan, that’s a magic wand. It doesn’t work that way, because the problem that people with AIDS and other diseases have in the private health insurance market is that the insurance companies don’t want to take them. They want to get rid of them. You give them a $150-a-month voucher, they can’t buy it.

Click for Bill Bradley on other issues. Source: (X-ref from Gore) Democrat debate in Harlem, NYC

Bill Bradley on Health Care : Feb 15, 2000
“Outrageous scare tactics” on Medicare’s HIV treatment

Gore claimed yesterday that Bradley’s health care plan would deprive people with HIV and AIDS of health coverage. Gore said Bradley’s plan would hurt poor people with HIV because it called for abolishing Medicaid. The government health care program for the poor.
Bradley responded that his plan would call for current Medicaid recipients to receive coverage under the system of private insurance that now covers federal employees, which he contends would be superior to Medicaid.
Gore’s press secretary then responded, “Bradley’s health plan would replace Medicaid with a $150 monthly voucher, which will not begin to cover the many services required by people with HIV and AIDS.”
Bradley accused Gore of resorting to “outrageous scare tactics” in criticizing his plan. Click for Bill Bradley on other issues. Source: Boston Globe, p. A21

Tommy Thompson on Health Care : Jan 26, 2000
Supports prescription drug savings plan for poor seniors

I am proposing a Low-Income Prescription Drug Savings Plan that will save seniors $792 a year. Anyone over 65 with an income below 185 percent of poverty will be eligible. The program cuts the prices for the most expensive drugs covered by Medicaid, passes the savings to low-income seniors who pay for medications out of pocket, requires pharmacies to charge no more than the Medicaid reimbursement rate. Click for Tommy Thompson on other issues. Source: State of the State speech

Al Gore on Abortion : Jan 26, 2000
Voted against Medicare-funded abortions; but now supports it

BRADLEY [to Gore]: Is consistency on fundamental issues of principle relevant? I think they are. In Congress you had an 84% right-to-life voting record. This is an issue that requires somebody to know where they stand.
I respect people who have a different view than I do. I respect your position that you had. People can evolve. But you campaign shouldn’t go around saying that you’ve always been for a woman’s right to choose because the record shows you have not.

GORE: We basically agree, we have exactly the same position. So if you want to manufacturer a distinction, O.K. I favor woman’s right to choose regardless of the woman’s income. I have always supported a woman’s right to choose. And I support it today.

BRADLEY: Al, that’s not true. You voted the other way.

GORE: The exceptions to the general rule that Medicaid should provide funding for abortions constituted virtually the only votes in the House of Representatives during [my years there]. And I wrestled with [those issues].

Click for Al Gore on other issues. Source: (X-ref from Bradley) Democrat Debate in Manchester NH

John McCain on Social Security : Jan 26, 2000
More believe in Elvis than in getting Social Security check

In good times, when we have a surplus, we should give the middle income Americans a tax break. They need it. They pay as much as 40 percent of their income in taxes. But at the same time, people are telling me: save Social Security; put some money into Medicare and pay down that debt. And don’t put that burden on future generations of Americans. More young Americans believe Elvis is alive than believe that they’ll ever see a Social Security check. Click for John McCain on other issues. Source: GOP Debate in Manchester NH

Bill Bradley on Health Care : Jan 17, 2000
All people on Medicaid should have a primary care physician

Q: How will your health care plan affect minorities? A: If you’re a Medicaid recipient, 2/3rds of doctors won’t accept you. You go to an emergency room to get the most expensive care. I want to provide a primary care physician for everybody. And 40% of the people in poverty in this country don’t have Medicaid. They’re overwhelmingly African-American & Latino. Under the proposal that I have offered they would have health care and they would be mainstreamed. Click for Bill Bradley on other issues. Source: Democrat Debate in Des Moines, Iowa

George W. Bush on Health Care : Jan 16, 2000
Replace 132,000-page Medicare document with senior choice

As far as the elderly, [their health care is] controlled by a 132,000-page document to determine how to allocate and ration Medicare dollars to the seniors. It is a plan that is inefficient, it is a plan that’s antiquated. And what our government must do is empower our seniors to be able to make choices for themselves and support premiums for the poorest of seniors. Click for George W. Bush on other issues. Source: GOP Debate in Johnston, Iowa

Steve Forbes on Health Care : Jan 16, 2000
Replace “gatekeepers” with health care vouchers

The key is putting patients in charge of health care resources again. There’s no need for all of these 3rd parties, HMO’s, insurers, employers, gate keepers, government bureaucracies that stand in the way. [You should] have your choice of several hundred different health care plans. If you need long-term care [or] prescriptive medicines you can choose a plan that does it. And for those on Medicaid, you should be able to have vouchers so you make the choice, not where the government tells you to go. Click for Steve Forbes on other issues. Source: GOP Debate in Johnston, Iowa

Alan Keyes on Social Security : Jan 13, 2000
Supports privatization & Lock-box

Allow workers to invest a portion of their payroll tax in private accounts which they manage themselves, or which are managed by private firms contracted by the government.
Invest a portion of Social Security’s assets collectively in stocks and bonds instead of US Treasury securities
Support a lock box measure, limiting Congress’s ability to spend Social Security and Medicare surpluses.

Click for Alan Keyes on other issues. Source: Vote-Smart.org 2000 NPAT

John Hagelin on Welfare & Poverty : Jan 13, 2000
Welfare via block grants; focus on job creation

Provide homeless families with apartment vouchers they can use to supplement the cost of an apartment.
Continue to give states and local governments responsibility for welfare programs through block grants.
Maintain current welfare-to-work requirements in order for states to qualify for block grants.
Transfer homeless housing programs to states through block grants.
Provide continued Medicaid benefits for those welfare recipients who have moved from welfare to work.
Require states to return any unused welfare block grant funding to the federal government.
Hagelin would “stimulate job creation by sustaining economic growth through lower taxes and reducing the national debt; providing high-quality job training to increase job opportunities.”

Click for John Hagelin on other issues. Source: Vote-Smart.org 2000 NPAT

John Hagelin on Social Security : Jan 13, 2000
More funds for Soc. Sec; invest in stocks; supports Lockbox

Invest a portion of Social Security’s assets collectively in stocks and bonds
Invest a portion of the budget surplus into the Social Security trust fund
Require individuals to pay the Social Security tax on incomes above $68,400 (which is currently exempt).
Support a lock box measure until Social Security and Medicare’s long-term solvency is guaranteed.

Click for John Hagelin on other issues. Source: Vote-Smart.org 2000 NPAT

Howard Phillips on Social Security : Jan 13, 2000
Keep Congress out of Social Security’s pocket

Support a lock box measure, limiting Congress’s ability to spend Social Security and Medicare surpluses on any other federal programs except Social Security and Medicare, until each program’s long-term solvency is guaranteed.
Allow workers to invest a portion of their payroll tax in private accounts which they manage themselves.

Click for Howard Phillips on other issues. Source: National Political Awareness Test, Project Vote Smart 2000

John Hagelin on Health Care : Jan 13, 2000
Cut costs via prevention; allow more Medicare choice

Hagelin says he “supports preventive health care programs in order to promote health and cut costs by 50% to 70%; and supports financial incentives such as medical savings accounts for Medicare and Medicaid subscribers and vouchers enabling Medicare and Medicaid subscribers to choose any insurance plan or health care provider they desire.” Click for John Hagelin on other issues. Source: Vote-Smart.org 2000 NPAT

Howard Phillips on Health Care : Jan 13, 2000
Federal govt out of health care

Providing health care is not a responsibility of the federal government.
Does not support increasing taxes on alcohol and cigarettes to help defer costs of Medicare and Medicaid.

Click for Howard Phillips on other issues. Source: National Political Awareness Test, Project Vote Smart 2000

Harry Browne on Health Care : Jan 13, 2000
Get government out of health care & costs will plummet

Browne agrees that providing health care is not a responsibility of the federal government. He says, “By getting government out of the healthcare industry, healthcare costs will plummet, innovation will increase, and more people will have access to the healthcare they need.” Browne would not support increasing taxes on alcohol and cigarettes to help defer costs of Medicare and Medicaid. Click for Harry Browne on other issues. Source: Vote-Smart.org 2000 NPAT

Gary Bauer on Welfare & Poverty : Jan 13, 2000
Pro-block grants; require teen moms to live with parents

Continue to give states and local governments responsibility for welfare programs through block grants.
Require that unwed teenage mothers live with a parent or guardian (if possible) and attend school to receive benefits.
Provide continued Medicaid benefits for those welfare recipients who have moved from welfare to work.

Click for Gary Bauer on other issues. Source: Vote-Smart.org 2000 NPAT

Steve Forbes on Health Care : Jan 13, 2000
Give small-business employees same options as others

Support health care strategies focused on prevention
Allow small business owners & employees and the self-employed to have the same deductibility for health costs as corporations and large employers
Expand eligibility for tax-free medical savings accounts

Forbes says, “Allow all Medicare beneficiares freedom to choose from a wide variety of private health plans, just like federal goverment employees can do.” Click for Steve Forbes on other issues. Source: Vote-Smart.org 2000 NPAT

John McCain on Social Security : Jan 11, 2000
Option to invest 20% of payroll taxes in private accounts

McCain will present today his first comprehensive plan for apportioning the spoils of the nation’s current prosperity, calling for. a program to shore up Social Security through the establishment of individual retirement accounts. McCain also specifically allocates money to help Medicare, which like Social Security faces a financial shortfall as the population ages. He calls for workers to have the option of investing at least 20% of their Social Security payroll taxes in private accounts. Click for John McCain on other issues. Source: New York Times, p. A21

Bill Bradley on Health Care : Jan 8, 2000
Covering drugs is the key to reducing health care costs

Q: How would your health care plan help older Americans on fixed incomes?

GORE: I allocate $374 billion over the next 10 years to the Medicare program. Under Senator Bradley’s plan, he doesn’t put a penny into Medicare.Under my plan, [an elderly patient] would get the cost of her prescription drugs covered. Under Senator Bradley’s plan, she would have a $500 deductible and then $300 premiums, so she wouldn’t get a penny of help under Senator Bradley’s plan.

BRADLEY: As a part of an overall health care program that I’ve proposed, I cover drug costs for senior citizens. After they’ve paid the first $800, they pay 25% above that. If we make sure they get access to the right drugs and we pay for them, that will save overall health care costs, because they will not be put into hospitals or have to pay very high expenses for doctor bills

Click for Bill Bradley on other issues. Source: (Cross-ref from Gore) Democrat Debate in Johnston Iowa

Alan Keyes on Families & Children : Jan 8, 2000
Health insurance is family responsibility, not government’s

Q. Even if Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program enroll all “eligible” children, there would still be millions of uninsured children. How do you propose insuring each and every child in America?
A. It is not the office of government directly to insure children or anyone else for health costs. Tax and fiscal policies that promote opportunity and responsibility will restore to families the capacity to do what they can do with maximal discretion and love.care for their own flesh and blood, and those they have adopted in love. It is a common duty of all members of society to attend to the needs of children neglected by inadequate family care, but this duty falls first to the extended family and the local community, including most of all the churches, and then to localities and states. Institution of a national governmental program is a confession of failure in charity and self-government. Click for Alan Keyes on other issues. Source: National Association of Children’s Hospitals survey

Steve Forbes on Health Care : Jan 7, 2000
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. Click for Steve Forbes on other issues. Source: Republican debate in West Columbia, South Carolina

Bill Bradley on Health Care : Jan 5, 2000
Replace Medicaid with competitive system

Q: Choose a quote out of context that you think was offensive.

BRADLEY: The one that was most particularly offensive to me was when [Gore] said that I was going to hurt African-Americans & Latinos with [my proposed] health care program. And he said that I am going to destroy Medicaid. What I’m trying to do is to replace Medicaid with something better.

GORE: What I said is that poor people are disproportionately likely to be African-American & Latino. [Those are] groups that are hurt when Medicaid is eliminated and they’re given instead a little $150-a-month voucher.

BRADLEY: It’s not a $150 cap. It’s a weighted average. Someplace it’ll be more, someplace it’ll be less.

GORE: [In some states, for $150] there is no plan that they can buy into.

BRADLEY: Let me explain. how the private sector works. Insurance companies [will] compete to provide the lowest cost service. And with a weighted average the individual could bump up so that they would have available [plans] as well.

Click for Bill Bradley on other issues. Source: (Cross-ref. to Gore) Democratic Debate in Durham, NH

Pat Buchanan on Health Care : Jan 1, 2000
Self-finance Medicare by self-investing

Buchanan’s views: Allow workers to invest money they would otherwise put into Medicare, so they can provide for their own health care in retirement. Click for Pat Buchanan on other issues. Source: NyTimes.com “White House 2000”

Bill Bradley on Health Care : Dec 18, 1999
All Americans should have access to affordable health care

Q: What will you do to strengthen Medicare? A: The health care system is in real distress. I think we have to help middle-class American pay for their health coverage, and we have to help cover 44 million Americans who don’t have any health insurance. I’ve offered a plan to do that. It’s a plan that will make access to affordable health care available to everyone in this country. It saves billions of dollars in waste and fraud. It provides a prescription drug benefit for the elderly. Click for Bill Bradley on other issues. Source: Town Hall Meeting, Nashua NH

Alan Keyes on Health Care : Dec 13, 1999
Let market determine health payments, not bureaucrats

Q: Medicare payments to hospitals, insurers and doctors, are so inequitable when you look at various states. Can it be made more equitable? A: One of the problems is that you’re making determinations in bureaucracies that ought in fact to be made in the marketplace. Costs are different in different parts of the country. They would be reflected in the marketplace if people had the opportunity to make the choices, rather than having those limits imposed upon them by bureaucratic determination and fiat. Click for Alan Keyes on other issues. Source: Des Moines Iowa GOP Debate

John McCain on Health Care : Dec 13, 1999
Matching funds for seniors citizens’ prescription drugs

We’re asking senior citizens now to make a choice between their health and their income. They make too much money to be on Medicare and not enough to pay for their prescription drugs. We’ve got to devise a program that when a senior spends a certain part of their income on these prescription drugs that we’ll have a state and federal match for it. We can’t do that to our senior citizens. Click for John McCain on other issues. Source: Des Moines Iowa GOP Debate

Steve Forbes on Health Care : Nov 15, 1999
Allow opting out of Medicare via private doctors

A Court of Appeals ruled that the elderly can indeed be treated outside of Medicare for procedures the government deems “unreasonable”- that is, procedures that the Medicare bureaucracy believes medically unnecessary. For services covered by Medicare, alas, Congress’ prohibition remains in place. Congress should repeal this poison pill and allow patients, if they so choose, to be treated outside of Medicare. Click for Steve Forbes on other issues. Source: Fact and Comment, Forbes Magazine

Pat Buchanan on Social Security : Nov 2, 1999
Address solvency first, before adding new programs

Q: How would you save Social Security? A: Before you add anything to it, we ought to make it solvent. That means way out, 50 years into the future, and there’s got to be some bullets that have to be bitten there. And before you add drugs or prescription drugs, we’ve got to make sure that [Medicare] is solvent way out into the future, like Social Security. Than you and I can argue about whether we should add something new, or not add something new. Click for Pat Buchanan on other issues. Source: Interview on MSNBC’s “Equal Time”

Orrin Hatch on Health Care : Oct 29, 1999
His CHIP program insures 7-10 million kids of working poor

10 million children in our society of the poorest of the poor families, not on Medicaid, meaning the working poor, did not have adequate health care. They were the only people fully left out of our health-care system. So we fought day in, day out, until we passed the Hatch “CHIP” bill, the Child Health Insurance Program, that now provides full coverage for 7 to 10 million children. Click for Orrin Hatch on other issues. Source: Republican Debate at Dartmouth College

Al Gore on Health Care : Oct 28, 1999
$146B over 10 years to insure 90% of adults & 100% of kids

Q: How do you plan to fund your health care plan? A: My health care plan provides coverage for almost 90% of the American people. It gives coverage to 100% of all children. The cost is $146 billion over ten years, and a prescription drug benefit is provided under Medicare for $118 billion over ten years. Click for Al Gore on other issues. Source: Democrat Debate at Dartmouth College

Orrin Hatch on Health Care : Oct 16, 1999
Reform Medicare by medical experts; more tax incentives

Medicare reform should be led by experts in that area, not politicians, Hatch said. Hatch would guarantee current benefits would not be cut for current enrollees and those nearly eligible for Medicare. Hatch’s proposal includes increased access to long-term care, established standards for long-term care insurance policies & increased tax incentives for purchasing policies. He also proposes an income tax check off so donors can give money to the NIH for research on certain illnesses. Click for Orrin Hatch on other issues. Source: Associated Press

Hillary Clinton on Health Care : Sep 14, 1999
Medicare should be strengthened today

We must extent Medicare’s life by an additional decade and offer a prescription drug plan. We have the means to do it today. Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues. Source: Remarks in Great Neck, Long Island

John Hagelin on Health Care : Sep 5, 1999
Switch from disease care to preventive health care

We spend over a trillion dollars a year on health. The problem is that we don’t have a health care system. We have a disease care system. Almost none of our health care expenditures are spent on prevention of disease & promotion of health. This is the only country in which prevention is illegal. It has been banned by Congress from Medicare & Medicaid, from all of our government health care programs. That is why we have the most expensive disease care system in the world and among the poorest health. Click for John Hagelin on other issues. Source: Washington Journal, C-SPAN

Bob Smith on Health Care : Aug 30, 1999
Medicare: Revise reimbursement rules for Home Health Care

[I propose] a common sense revision of the medicare home health reimbursement formulas. The mandated formulas penalized efficient care providers and rewarded the inefficient. [My proposal] establishes a fiscally responsible framework that rewards efficiency and ensures the continuity of quality home health services for seniors. This year, I call on Medicare officials to include representatives from the home health industry in the process of formulating new rules for reimbursing providers. Click for Bob Smith on other issues. Source: senate.gov/~smith “Smith on the Issues”

Bob Smith on Defense : Aug 30, 1999
New non-VA programs for military retirees’ health care

I am deeply concerned about the ability of our military retirees over the age of 65 to get access to quality health care. We have a moral obligation to assist those in need who have honorably served our country. I [support a] test program to ensure the availability of adequate health care for Medicare-eligible military retirees. The program ensures [against the VA’s problems with] geographic constraints resulting from the diminishing number of military treatment facilities. Click for Bob Smith on other issues. Source: senate.gov/~smith “Smith on the Issues”

Elizabeth Dole on Abortion : Aug 17, 1999
For federal funding only in cases of incest, rape, health

Dole has long supported legal abortions for women who are the victims of rape, incest, or if a woman’s health is jeopardized. But when asked whether she viewed spending Medicaid funds for poor women’s abortions as a fairness issue, Dole replied: “I think I am against federal funding for abortions.” Later, a spokesman confirmed that Dole supports the current law. The Post states that current law allows using Medicaid money for abortion in instances of rape, incest or when the woman’s life is in danger. Click for Elizabeth Dole on other issues. Source: Ceci Connelly, The Washington Post

Orrin Hatch on Health Care : Aug 5, 1999
More funds for Medicare “skilled nursing facilities”

I introduce today the “Medicare Beneficiary Access to Quality Nursing Home Care Act.” First, the bill provides additional monies for skilled nursing facilities patients. Second, the bill closes the gap between the inaccurate inflation estimate and the actual cost increases between 1995 and 1998. [This bill helps] nursing homes which are on the verge of filing for bankruptcy, and Medicare beneficiaries who are finding themselves on long waiting lists to be admitted to a skilled nursing facility. Click for Orrin Hatch on other issues. Source: Statement of Senator Orrin G. Hatch before the Senate

Orrin Hatch on Social Security : Jul 29, 1999
$792B tax cut does not affect Medicare or Social Security

I am weary of hearing that if we support tax relief for working Americans we somehow fail to support Social Security or Medicare. We all agree that the Social Security surplus should be reserved for the Social Security system. The big debate here today is how do we best handle the non-Social Security surplus in the federal budget. Many have argued that $792 billion is too much. If I thought for one moment that this tax cut will would jeopardize Medicare or Social Security, I would not support it. Click for Orrin Hatch on other issues. Source: Statement by Hatch before the Senate

Ralph Nader on Health Care : Jul 15, 1999
HMO plan: accountability, doctor-driven, independent review

HMOs must be legally accountable for damages when they delay and deny medically necessary treatment.
Only doctors should determine medical necessity, not corporate bureaucrats.
Independent review procedures only work well in conjunction with civil liability and when reviews are truly independent of the HMOs.
Executive salary caps should apply to any HMO that services Medicare or otherwise receives tax money.
A facility to encourage consumers to band together on a statewide basis, at their own volition and without any taxpayer money being used, to form consumer health action groups should be authorized.

These principles are the bare-bones beginning of reforms. They are the minimum patients deserve to even the balance of power between themselves and HMO corporations that are turning doctors’ offices and hospitals into commercially dominated domains. Click for Ralph Nader on other issues. Source: Letter to the House of Representatives

Al Gore on Principles & Values : Jul 3, 1999
Practical Idealism: centrist on most issues

Gore’s motto is “practical idealism,” and he is, broadly speaking, a centrist. Some important distinctions are that Gore is a meddler [in dealing with government reform]; Gore hedges his enthusiasm for free trade with conditions; and Gore has kept his powder dry on pledges against raising taxes. Gore is inclined to keep Medicare and Social Security solvent by spending budget surpluses on them. Click for Al Gore on other issues. Source: The Economist, p. 13

George W. Bush on Health Care : Jun 25, 1999
Health insurance for kids from tobacco settlement

Bush provided health insurance for kids. He used Texas’ tobacco settlement fund to provide health insurance to children whose families do not qualify for Medicaid and whose family income is 200% or less of poverty level. Click for George W. Bush on other issues. Source: GeorgeWBush.com/News/ “1999 Texas Legislative Record”

Pat Buchanan on Social Security : Jun 12, 1999
Medicare: no socialized system; no expansion

America’s seniors have already made their sacrifices. As our 39 million elderly citizens enter the twilight of their lives, we must keep faith with them by maximizing choice of coverage and quality of care. Medicare must be redesigned, but herding seniors into a socialized system dominated by HMOs and brokered by a Big Business, Big Government partnership is not the answer. Neither is the irrational proposal to massively expand a program already on life-support. Click for Pat Buchanan on other issues. Source: www.GoPatGo.org/ “Issues: Medicare”

Pat Buchanan on Social Security : Jun 12, 1999
Put Medicare taxes into personal insurance accounts

[We should] allow workers to save and invest their Medicare taxes in personal investment or insurance accounts to provide for health care after they retire. Government bureaucracy will not ration their benefits and a third-party will not manage their care. Instead, this less costly, privately controlled, competition-driven alternative will empower seniors to make their own health care decisions and support our American ideals of free choice, free markets, and the sanctity of each and every human life Click for Pat Buchanan on other issues. Source: www.GoPatGo.org/ “Issues: Medicare”

Lamar Alexander on Health Care : May 25, 1999
Medicare provides a menu of plans, some with add-on costs

Medicare needs to be strengthened by giving people more choices of quality care. I favor giving Medicare recipients the option of choosing from a menu of private insurance plans of remaining in the current government plan. The government portion of the premium would pay for basic coverage and the individual’s cost would go towards more deluxe plans - thus Medicare recipients would get the coverage they need, but would have a strong incentive to pick a cost effective plan. Click for Lamar Alexander on other issues. Source: www.LamarAlexander.org/issue

Al Gore on Civil Rights : May 16, 1999
End discrimination based on mental illnesses

Gore has been a leader in [opposing] discrimination against people with disabilities in housing, schools, workplaces and public areas across the nation. [Gore has worked] to expand home- and community-based care, and to protect the crucial Medicaid guarantee for people with disabilities. Through Tipper’s leadership, the administration took landmark steps to end discrimination based on mental illnesses. Gore [supports] increasing accessibility through sound transportation and infrastructure policies Click for Al Gore on other issues. Source: www.AlGore2000.com/issues/disabled.html 5/16/99

Al Gore on Social Security : May 14, 1999
Protect retirement plans while times are good

Use good economic times to tackle tough, long-term economic problems-and that means meeting our promise to an aging society by saving Social Security first and protecting Medicare while we have the means and the will to do it. Al Gore has urged Congress to refrain from risky tax schemes, and instead pass a responsible Social Security and Medicare reform plan -- to ensure the dignity of seniors in retirement, while also raising the national savings rate. Click for Al Gore on other issues. Source: www.AlGore2000.com/issues/econ.html 5/14/99

Paul Wellstone on Health Care : Jan 7, 1999
Health plans should match those for Congress.

Wellstone introduced legislation to make any health care reform that passed the Senate as good as that which is provided to Members of Congress. He also wrote the Patient Protection Act to protect consumers and health care providers. He led the fight to protect Medicare from arbitrary cuts. In the summer of 1996, the Senate approved legislation he authored to require health insurance policies cover mental illnesses in the same manner as other physical illnesses. Click for Paul Wellstone on other issues. Source: www.wellstone.org/paul.html 1/7/99

Jeb Bush on Health Care : Jul 2, 1998
Ensure access for children & adults; Medicaid for immigrants

Ensure that citizens have access to basic health care, through managed care, insurance reforms, or state funded care where necessary.
Provide health care to uninsured children by designing a children’s health insurance program.
Use state funds to continue some Medicaid coverage for legal immigrants.

Click for Jeb Bush on other issues. Source: Vote-smart 1998 Florida NPAT

Tom Ridge on Health Care : Jul 2, 1998
Guaranteed medical care is not a government responsibility

Expand the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which provides uninsured children with health care.
Transfer more existing Medicaid recipients into managed care programs.
Guaranteeing medical care to all citizens is not a responsibility of state government.
Provide certain clinical public health services through local community providers rather than through state-run health centers.

Click for Tom Ridge on other issues. Source: Vote-smart 1998 Pennsylvania NPAT

Howard Phillips on Social Security : May 1, 1998
Privatize Social Security & Medicare

The privatization of Social Security and Medicare will help us avoid the danger of giving corporate & government bureaucrats control over the life & death of our people, in a context where the demand for health care is satisfied, not in accordance with the checks & balances of the marketplace or the compassion of the doctor/patient relationship, but rather the political & bureaucratic determination of those for whom cost effectiveness may outweigh the sacred significance of each innocent human life. Click for Howard Phillips on other issues. Source: Speech to the Council for National Policy, McLean, VA

Zell Miller on Health Care : Jan 13, 1998
Providing insurance for children is a top priority

In the area of human resources, the most important program is the Children’s Health Insurance Program. It will leverage federal matching funds, and could provide health coverage for as many as 228,000 Georgia children. CHIP will expand Medicaid coverage for pregnant women and children from birth to age five, up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level, which is $32,100 a year for a family of four. Click for Zell Miller on other issues. Source: Budget Address, Georgia

Zell Miller on Health Care : May 5, 1997
Fraud Control Unit for Medicare fraud

Medicaid fraud is a major problem. Georgia taxpayers are being ripped off. And these criminals are stealing staggering amounts of taxpayer money. Estimates of annual losses due to health care fraud range from 3 to 10 percent of this nation’s health care expenditures. But Georgia has been fighting back. Because of the magnitude of the problem, I created by executive order the State Health Care Fraud Control Unit.The Unit has won 25 Medicaid fraud convictions in just the last nine months. Click for Zell Miller on other issues. Source: Remarks at Bill Signings

John Hagelin on Health Care : Oct 10, 1996
Cost-effective meditation bargain for taxpayer

Smoking cessation, prenatal care, stress management, diet & exercise, the National Institutes of Health in a major study published by the American Heart Association just declared that Transcendental Meditation, a stress reduction program, was the most effective and cost-effective treatment for high blood pressure. This program should be reimbursable under Medicare, because being cost-effective, it gives the taxpayers who support that program the most value for their dollar. Click for John Hagelin on other issues. Source: National Public Radio report

John Hagelin on Tax Reform : Aug 24, 1996
Less taxes popular; less spending unpopular

Cutting taxes is very popular; cutting spending is very unpopular. If you’re going to cut it significantly, it typically means defense, Medicare, or Social Security. Click for John Hagelin on other issues. Source: Natural Law Party National Convention

Bob Smith on Principles & Values : Jul 2, 1996
Priorities: pay down debt; keep criminals in jail

My first priority is to put the Nation’s fiscal house in order by balancing the budget and paying down our national debt. Bringing down our huge annual interest payments on the debt will make more money available for fighting crime, funding education, protecting the environment, and keeping Medicare solvent. My second priority is to stop violent crime by putting repeat violent criminals in jail an keeping them there. These would be funded by balancing the budget and paying down the national debt. Click for Bob Smith on other issues. Source: Project Vote Smart NPAT 1996

Bill Clinton on Tax Reform : Jan 1, 1996
Across-the-board tax cuts are irresponsible

Some [of our political opponents] are offering a strategy they have offered before: an across-the-board tax cut bigger than we can afford. If implemented, it will either explode the deficit, raise interest rates, & slow the economy; or if it is paid for, it will require even bigger cuts in Medicare, Medicaid, education, and protection of the environment than the budget I vetoed. Either way, it will reduce opportunity, slow the economy, and ultimately hurt hard-working Americans. It is not responsible. Click for Bill Clinton on other issues. Source: Between Hope and History, by Bill Clinton, p. 58

Bill Clinton on Health Care : Jan 1, 1996
Do more for health insurance

While Medicare takes care of Americans over the age of 65, we’re the only Western industrial nation that doesn’t provide a system of health insurance for all working people under 65. We worked hard to create comprehensive health care reform early in my administration. And while that larger challenge remains unmet, we now have, thanks to bipartisan efforts, a new law that ensures that people won’t automatically lose their health insurance when they change jobs or when somebody in the family gets sick.

But we have to do more. First, we should provide assistance to unemployed workers to help them keep their health insurance until they find a new job. We also need to make it easier for small businesses to buy into insurance risk pools that are large enough to make it possible to offer coverage at a reasonable cost.

Click for Bill Clinton on other issues. Source: Between Hope and History, by Bill Clinton, p. 53-54

Tommy Thompson on Health Care : Aug 12, 1995
Let states reform Medicaid; fight “one size fits all”

[Under the 1981 Boren Amendment], states get sued if we do not pay enough [for healthcare]. It has cost Wisconsin $120 million. It has proven to be one of the most costly federal regulations on record. Imposing a “one size fits all” mandate ends up costing more.

Medicaid costs have been increasing at an average of 20% a year, and they make up about 20% of all state spending. This leaves budgets with escalating Medicaid costs that are almost bankrupting states. We have used managed care and HMO’s in order to reduce payments in Wisconsin to one half the national average.

I am fighting hard to get Washington to recognize the importance of sharing authority. Give us a chance at the state level to make programs more effective for the individual citizens of our states. The states know what to do. Give us the freedom to do it.

Click for Tommy Thompson on other issues. Source: United We Stand America Conference, p.208-9

Rev. Jesse Jackson on Health Care : Aug 12, 1995
Balanced budget requires controlling health costs

Money politics explains why we cannot provide every American with comprehensive health care, even as we control costs. You cannot get the budget to balance without getting health care costs under control. You cannot get health care costs under control simply by whacking away at Medicare and Medicaid-putting the costs on the poor and the elderly.

Many bought the Republican line last year when they said there was no crisis. They are here this year to say that Medicare and Medicaid must be cut.

Click for Rev. Jesse Jackson on other issues. Source: United We Stand America Conference, p.130

Dick Gephardt on Health Care : Aug 12, 1995
Health care reform: no selective insurance

We will never reform Medicare unless we reform the whole health care system. We must have health care reform. We must get rid of insurance companies who only want to compete by selecting only healthy people or who want to deny coverage to people who are or who become sick. Let us put them on a level playing field and make them compete for health care resources. Click for Dick Gephardt on other issues. Source: United We Stand America Conference, p.263

Harry Browne on Health Care : Jul 2, 1995
Government can improve health care by getting out of it

Abolish the FDA. Let people decide for themselves, with the help of their doctors and private testing agencies they choose for themselves, which medicines are safe enough for them.
Save Medicare by turning it over to private companies. Let seniors pick their own polices. Let them earn as much money as they want without losing benefits.
Abolish Medicaid. Let each state’s citizens decide for themselves whether they want a government program to provide health care to the needy.
Solve the portability problem by making all medical expenses totally deductible from taxable income.
Get state governments to stop imposing conditions on health insurance. Don’t require individuals to pay for benefits they don’t want. Don’t force insurance companies to take customers they don’t want.

Click for Harry Browne on other issues. Source: Why Government Doesn’t Work, by H. Browne, p.109-10

Harry Browne on Health Care : Jul 2, 1995
Medicare has caused higher health costs

Medicare provides a good example [of how government doesn’t work]. It was created in 1965 to make it easier for the elderly to get health care. But by reducing the patient’s out-of-pocket costs, it increased the demand for doctors and hospitals. And it reduced the supply of those services by requiring doctors and other medical personnel to use their time and attention handling paperwork and complying with regulations. So the price of medical care rose sharply as the demand soared and the supply diminished.
As a result, the elderly now pay from their own pockets over twice as much for health care (after adjusting for inflation) than they did before Medicare began. And most older people now find it harder to get adequate medical service. Naturally, the government points to the higher costs and shortages as proof that the elderly would be lost without Medicare--and that government should be even more deeply involved. Click for Harry Browne on other issues. Source: Why Government Doesn’t Work, by Harry Browne, p. 15

Colin Powell on Social Security : Jan 1, 1995
Hard reality: reduce entitlements or raise taxes

The great domestic political challenge of our time is to reconcile the necessity for fiscal responsibility with the explosive growth in entitlement programs, including Social Security and Medicare, which the needy and the middle class rely on so heavily. Realistically, we have only two alternatives: either we reduce the entitlement system or we raise taxes to pay for it. We cannot keep balancing the books by increasing the deficit. Yet many politicians want to exempt such programs from serious fiscal scrutiny because to do otherwise risks political suicide. However, until our leaders are willing to talk straight to the American people and the people are willing to accept hard realities, no solution will be found to relieve our children and grandchildren of the crushing debt that we are currently amassing as their inheritance. I say all this, of course, fully aware that it is easy for me to do so since, so far, I have never asked anyone to vote for me. Click for Colin Powell on other issues. Source: My American Journey, by Colin Powell, p. 591

Hillary Clinton on Families & Children : May 5, 1994
Men should be full participants in child-raising

I was just so struck by how, in our country, we talk a lot about family values and how we want parents to take care of their children. And yet, [some parents] talk about how they were forced onto welfare because they couldn’t get insurance, and men who an’t take raises because if they do, they lose the Medicaid eligibility for their children. Mothers talked about how they’d be better off if they divorced their husbands, because then they could get government assistance. That is just wrong.

Women and children need men to be full participants in the raising of children, and men need the opportunity and joy of being those participants in their own families.

The primary obligation of both parents is to take whatever gift God gave you in the person of that little boy or girl and pay attention to that child’s needs, to respond to that child, to stimulate that child, to be there for that child, and to learn the kind of personality your child has so that you’re allowing your child to flourish.

Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues. Source: Unique Voice, p.177 & 181: Larry King Live

Hillary Clinton on Health Care : Mar 15, 1994
Medicare is biased against nursing home alternatives

The problem for Americans in the Medicare program is there is no support for alternatives to nursing home care. We want to provide long-term care options, so that families will not be forced to put their family members in nursing homes.

Providing a home health aide, giving some respite to the full-time caretaker of an Alzheimer’s patient, that is all much cheaper than putting the person in a nursing home. Let’s enable older people to live with dignity.

Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues. Source: Unique Voice, p.161: Speech at Washington University

Rush Limbaugh on Health Care : Jul 2, 1993
Deregulate health care; government is the problem

Government intervention-specifically the Medicaid and Medicare programs-is the biggest reason costs are escalating in health care today. When Medicare began in 1965, it cost taxpayers about $3 billion per year. It was projected back them that by 1990 the price would rise to $9 billion per year. The 1990 bill was actually $67 billion per year. The pointy-headed theoreticians who devised this program made the mistake of assuming they were operating in a zero-sum game. They never imagined that the very creation of their program would increase demand for medical services.

What happens when the government pays for all medical care is that limits must be placed on the amount of care that can be offered. Thus, with Rodhamized medicine, you will always have rationing of care in one form or another. Government is not the solution, Ronald Reagan used to say. Government is the problem. Further intrusion is not the answer. Competition is. We need deregulation, not more government control.

Click for Rush Limbaugh on other issues. Source: See, I Told You So, p.170-72

Ross Perot on Health Care : Nov 7, 1992
Expand Medicare to cover all Americans

Curbing entitlement payments to the affluent;
and implementation of some sort of a comprehensive health care plan-one that would be akin to Medicare but for all Americans, not just the needy.

Click for Ross Perot on other issues. Source: Strong-Man Politics, by George Grant, p. 88

Ronald Reagan on Health Care : Jul 2, 1991
Despite accusations, didn’t much cut Medicare

[In the 1984 presidential debates, Walter Mondale reminded Reagan that] “when President Carter said tat you were going to cut Medicare, you said, ‘Oh no, there you go again, Mr. President.’ And what did you do right after the election? You went out and tried to cut $20 billion out of Medicare. So when you say, ‘There you go again,’ people remember this.”

This was perhaps the least factual passage in the entire Mondale presentation. Reagan had barely touched Medicare in the 1981 budget cuts. He had four years later proposed Medicare restraints on hospitals and doctors that were, as an otherwise pro-Mondale editorial in the Washington Post noted, “not all that different from the Carter administration’s.” But Reagan had been thrown on the defensive and he looked it.

Click for Ronald Reagan on other issues. Source: The Role of a Lifetime, by Lou Cannon, p. 541-42

Dick Cheney on Health Care : Jan 1, 1989
Fund Medicare psychologists; self-employees; & organ donors

H.R.774 (1989):A bill with respect to coverage of services of psychologists under the medicare program.
H.R.11 (1986) & H.R.3487 (1984):A bill to provide that one-half of the amounts paid by a self-employed taxpayer for his or her health insurance premiums will be allowed as a business deduction.
H.R.4080 & H.R. 5580 (1984):A bill to authorize financial assistance for organ procurement organizations, and for other purposes.

Click for Dick Cheney on other issues. Source: Thomas Register of Congressional Votes

Dick Cheney on Health Care : Jan 1, 1988
Require HMO registration & AIDS testing

H.R.186 (1988):A bill to require the registration of certain nonprofit entities which provide health services and sell prescription drugs.
H.R.2272 & H.R.2273 (1988):A bill to prohibit grants to any public entity that does not establish requirements with respect to testing for AIDS.
H.CON.RES.40 (1989):Expressing the sense of Congress that Medicare payments should not be reduced below the levels provided in current law.

Click for Dick Cheney on other issues. Source: Thomas Register of Congressional Votes

Jimmy Carter on Health Care : Oct 19, 1976
Supports national health insurance

We must have a comprehensive program of national health insurance.
We must have government reorganization that will end the bureaucratic fragmentation that now frustrates any hope for a rational and effective national health care policy.
We must encourage alternative delivery systems such as HMOs and rural group practices.
We must clean up the disgraceful Medicaid scandals.

Click for Jimmy Carter on other issues. Source: Public Health speech, in “Good As Its People,” p. 231-33

Additional quotations related to Medicare & Medicaid issues can be found under Health Care. Click here for definitions & background information on Health Care. Click here for policy papers on Health Care. Agree? Disagree? Click here to express your views in The Forum.
*Candidates on Health Care:*
Pat Buchanan George W. Bush Al Gore Ralph Nader *Minor Candidates:* Harry Browne John Hagelin David McReynolds Howard Phillips *V.P. Candidates:* Dick Cheney Winona LaDuke Joe Lieberman Ezola Foster *Withdrawn:* Lamar Alexander Gary Bauer Bill Bradley Elizabeth Dole Steve Forbes Orrin Hatch Alan Keyes John McCain Dan Quayle Bob Smith Donald Trump	*Senate Races:* (AZ) Kyl vs. Starky (CA) Feinstein vs. Campbell & Lightfoot (CT) Lieberman vs. Giordano & Green (DE) Roth vs. Carper (FL) McCollum vs. Nelson & Logan (GA) Miller vs. Mattingly (HI) Akaka vs. Douglas (IN,R) Lugar vs. Johnson (MA) Kennedy vs. Robinson & Howell & Lawler (MD) Sarbanes vs. Rappaport (ME,R) Snowe vs. Lawrence (MI) Abraham vs. Stabenow (MN) Grams vs. Dayton (MO) Ashcroft vs. Carnahan (MS) Lott vs. Giles & Brown (MT,R) Burns vs. Schweitzer (ND) Conrad vs. Sand (NE) Nelson vs. Stenberg (NJ,R) Franks vs. Corzine (NM,D) Bingaman vs. Redmond (NV,D) Bernstein vs. Ensign	*More Senate Races:* (NY) Clinton vs. Lazio & Giuliani & Wein (OH) DeWine vs. Celeste & McAlister (PA) Santorum vs. Klink (RI) Chafee vs. Weygand (TN) Frist vs. Clark & Burrell & Johnson (TX,R) Hutchison vs. Kelley & Ruwart (UT) Hatch vs. Dexter & Howell (VA,D) Robb vs. Allen (VT) Jeffords vs. Flanagan (WA,R) Gorton vs. Cantwell & McKeigue (WI,D) Kohl vs. Gillespie (WV,D) Byrd vs. Gallaher (WY,R) Thomas vs. Logan Senate Races House of Representatives SenateMatch (matching quiz) HouseMatch Senate Votes (analysis) House Votes
Please consider a donation to Issues2000! Click for details -- or send donations to: 1770 Mass Ave. #630, Cambridge MA 02140 E-mail: submit@issues2000.org (We rely your support!)

Topics in the News: Medicare & Medicaid

Dick Gephardt on Tax Reform : Feb 27, 2001 $900B tax cut protects other important interests

Bob Wise on Health Care : Feb 14, 2001 $1.5M to provide healthcare access for every child

Bob Wise on Health Care : Feb 14, 2001 More discounts for prescription drugs

Tommy Thompson on Health Care : Feb 2, 2001 Vows to protect Medicare, add drug benefit

Dick Gephardt on Tax Reform : Feb 1, 2001 Bush tax cut plan threatens our prosperity

Bob Holden on Health Care : Jan 30, 2001 Use tobacco settlement to pay for senior prescriptions

George W. Bush on Health Care : Jan 29, 2001 Senior Rx: “Immediate Helping Hand” now; more later

Kenny Guinn on Health Care : Jan 22, 2001 Fund alternatives to long-term care for seniors

Jim Gilmore on Health Care : Jan 10, 2001 $25M more for medical care for most vulnerable citizens

Jim Geringer on Health Care : Jan 10, 2001 More funding for prescription drugs & senior care

Bill Graves on Health Care : Jan 8, 2001 More funding for Medicaid matching & pharmaceuticals

Adam Schiff on Health Care : Jan 1, 2001 Let patients and doctors decide; preserve Medicare

Donny DiFrancesco on Health Care : Dec 25, 2000 More funds for senior prescriptions, charity care, Medicaid

George W. Bush on Principles & Values : Dec 13, 2000 Together, we can unite and accomplish goals

Zell Miller on Health Care : Nov 7, 2000 Use budget surplus to fund senior prescription drugs

Natural Law Party on Health Care : Nov 7, 2000 Save Medicare by rewarding good health & providing choice

Natural Law Party on Health Care : Nov 7, 2000 Focus on prevention and reward good health

John Ashcroft on Health Care : Nov 7, 2000 Medicare lockbox; more funding too

Al Gore on Families & Children : Nov 6, 2000 Fiscal discipline helps single people as well as families

Jean Carnahan on Tax Reform : Nov 5, 2000 Targeted tax cuts to working families

Jean Carnahan on Health Care : Nov 5, 2000 Medicare Rx plan;more breast cancer research

John Ashcroft on Social Security : Nov 5, 2000 Architect of the Social Security lockbox

Jean Carnahan on Health Care : Nov 4, 2000 Supports Patient Bill of Rights

George W. Bush on Principles & Values : Nov 3, 2000 They have not led. We will.

Zell Miller on Health Care : Oct 30, 2000 Guarantee Rx drug for all seniors under Medicare

Al Gore on Health Care : Oct 17, 2000 Drug companies spend more on ads than on research

George W. Bush on Health Care : Oct 17, 2000 Give states money to help poor seniors buy medicine

Al Gore on Health Care : Oct 11, 2000 Claims of Bush’s choices & benefits are underestimated

George W. Bush on Principles & Values : Oct 11, 2000 The president must have credibility; Gore doesn’t

Al Gore on Principles & Values : Oct 11, 2000 Promises to get the big things right; sorry for exaggerating

Rick Lazio on Health Care : Oct 8, 2000 Give uninsured employees a deduction to pay for health care

Hillary Clinton on Health Care : Oct 8, 2000 Health goal is affordable coverage for all

Hillary Clinton on Principles & Values : Oct 8, 2000 Get New York a fair share of budget surplus & Medicaid

George W. Bush on Health Care : Oct 3, 2000 Medicare Rx plan: immediate help, then senior choice

Al Gore on Health Care : Oct 3, 2000 Medicare Rx plan: you choose, Medicare pays

Al Gore on Government Reform : Oct 3, 2000 Use historic surplus to balance budget and help middle class

George W. Bush on Government Reform : Oct 3, 2000 Gore plan will lead to massive government and bureaucracy

Al Gore on Health Care : Oct 3, 2000 Put Medicare in lockbox so seniors can afford prescriptions

Al Gore on Health Care : Sep 30, 2000 Cover 12 million uninsured at a 10-year cost of $157 billion

Al Gore on Abortion : Sep 30, 2000 Opposes partial birth abortion, but opposes banning it

Al Gore on Health Care : Sep 25, 2000 Stronger penalties for HMOs who drop seniors

Al Gore on Health Care : Sep 23, 2000 Protect Medicare’s funds with “lockbox”

Al Gore on Health Care : Sep 23, 2000 Modernize Medicare with choice, efficiency, competition

Al Gore on Health Care : Sep 23, 2000 Encourage competition, ensure choice, stop abuses

Al Gore on Health Care : Sep 23, 2000 Free preventive cancer screenings for Medicare beneficiaries

Al Gore on Health Care : Sep 23, 2000 Allow 55-65 year olds to buy into Medicare

Al Gore on Health Care : Sep 23, 2000 Too many seniors have to choose between drugs and rent

George W. Bush on Health Care : Sep 17, 2000 Blueprint: Senior choice; Rx benefit; tax breaks

Hillary Clinton on Principles & Values : Sep 13, 2000 Hillary: Lazio has chutzpah to call himself “mainstream”

Rick Lazio on Principles & Values : Sep 13, 2000 Lazio: Hillary has chutzpah to make guilt by association

Jon Corzine on Social Security : Sep 12, 2000 Commit funds to secure Medicare & Soc. Sec. “absolutely”

John Ashcroft on Health Care : Sep 9, 2000 $150M for basic health care for uninsured

Lauren Beth Gash on Social Security : Sep 9, 2000 Fight any attempts to reduce benefits or privatize

Lauren Beth Gash on Health Care : Sep 9, 2000 Comprehensive Medicare prescription drug coverage

Ralph Nader on Health Care : Sep 8, 2000 Medicare prescriptions covered under universal health care

John Hagelin on Health Care : Sep 8, 2000 80% reimbursement for Medicare prescriptions

Al Gore on Education : Sep 8, 2000 $36B for tuition after saving Medicare & Social Security

Al Gore on Health Care : Sep 6, 2000 $253B for Medicare prescriptions & subsidized premiums

George W. Bush on Health Care : Sep 6, 2000 $158B for Medicare prescriptions & subsidized premiums

George W. Bush on Health Care : Sep 5, 2000 All seniors entitled to Medicare; poor seniors subsidized

George W. Bush on Health Care : Sep 5, 2000 Give seniors choice, not bureaucrats; give incentives too

George W. Bush on Health Care : Sep 5, 2000 Second bill to Congress: $48B for immediate Rx help

George W. Bush on Health Care : Sep 5, 2000 Choice of Medicare, free equivalent, or adding own $

Joseph Lieberman on Health Care : Aug 31, 2000 Voted to cut Medicare & raise age; now would not

Al Gore on Tax Reform : Aug 31, 2000 Yes, it’s your money-but it’s your programs too

Al Gore on Health Care : Aug 31, 2000 1997 Medicare cuts went too far-put back $339B

Ezola Foster on Social Security : Aug 29, 2000 Help people without dependency: transition to IRAs

Ezola Foster on Health Care : Aug 29, 2000 Portable and private affordable Medicare solutions

Al Gore on Social Security : Aug 18, 2000 Dedicate the budget surplus first to saving Social Security

Bill Bradley on Health Care : Aug 15, 2000 Mandatory insurance for children, at birth, federally paid

Democratic Party on Health Care : Aug 15, 2000 Add prescription drug benefit to Medicare

Democratic Party on Health Care : Aug 15, 2000 Every American should have affordable health insurance

Bill Bradley on Civil Rights : Aug 15, 2000 Quest for racial unity is a defining moral issue

Republican Party on Health Care : Aug 12, 2000 A reformed Medicare will give seniors choice, flexibility

Dick Cheney on Health Care : Jul 26, 2000 Prescription drug benefits for Medicare recipients

George W. Bush on Principles & Values : Jul 25, 2000 Picked Cheney as a valuable partner and fully capable

Dick Cheney on Principles & Values : Jul 25, 2000 Accepts nomination help change tone in Washington

Jim Jeffords on Social Security : Jul 2, 2000 Raise FICA on rich; support lock-box

Mark Dayton on Health Care : Jul 2, 2000 Expand Medicare Rx coverage & other coverage