>Date: Thu, 03 Oct 2002 18:19:13 -0400
>To: dhenwood at panix.com
>From: Norman Bauman <nbauman at escape.com>
>Subject: Hillary Clinton on single-payer
>Mime-Version: 1.0
>X-Rcpt-To: <dhenwood at panix.com>
>Status: O
>X-Status:
>
>Doug,
>
>I did bring up Hillary's health care position when she was running for
>office. Here's what she said.
>
>I sent this out on my email list for medical writers.
>
>Norman
>
>
>Hillary Clinton on single-payer
>
>
>NEW YORK, 18 July 2000--Hillary Rodham Clinton announced new health
>proposals for the uninsured on the Senate campaign trail at
>Columbia-Presbyterian Medical
>Center. I asked her about single-payer.
>
>
>Q: Would we be better off with a Canadian-style single payer system if it
>were politically possible?
>
>Clinton: I think our system has so many unique features to it. You know if
>we were talking 100 years ago, or 200 years ago, before we developed the
>kind of mixed system that we've got of public and private resources, I
>don't know, that's a hypothetical, but given where we are today I think
>it's imperative that we take it step by step, and that we build on what works.
>
>And we know that people have responded positively in most parts of the
>country to CHIP [Children's Health Insurance Program]. It's a program that
>works. We thought it would work. We've got some kinks to iron out so we
>build on it. And then we take a step to get to additional coverage to
>parents, and a step to get--
>
>So eventually we'll have people covered but we'll still keep a lot of
>choice in the system so that people can choose between different plans.
>They can have alternatives and options. Americans, as we know, we love
>choice, we believe that we ought to be able to make decisions about our
>most important matters in life, and health ranks at the top of that.
>
>So I think that what I've outlined today is both financially feasible and
>politically feasible. And that's why I'm going with that.
>
>
>The proposal that Clinton announced today would:
>
>1. Expand CHIP eligibility from family income of 200% of the poverty level
>($31,000 for a family of 4) to 300% of the poverty level ($51,000 for a
>family of 4).
>
>2. Allow families of children eligible for CHIP to buy into CHIP or
>Medicaid. (Clinton previously proposed that the uninsured between 55 and 65
>be allowed to buy into Medicare, and have COBRA coverage extended to 55.)
>
>3. Give a refundable tax credit of 25% of the health insurance premium to
>individuals who cannot get employer-based health insurance.
>
>
>In an apparent jibe at Texas Gov. George W. Bush, she attacked states that
>do not use their full CHIP allotment. "I am constantly frustrated," said
>Clinton, by states that are elligible for CHIP, and do not take the federal
>money, usually because it requires matching state funds. She proposed
>taking CHIP funds from the states that did not use it, and giving it to
>states that use their full allotment, such as New York. Although Clintion
>did not mention Bush, Texas has one of the worst CHIP participation rates.
>In contrast to Clinton's plan to raise CHIP eligibility to 300% of the
>poverty level, Bush tried to lower the eligibility in Texas to 133% of the
>poverty level. (Lie of the Week
><http://www.salon.com/politics/feature/2000/07/07/lie_week/index.html>)
>
>--Norman Bauman
>
>###
>
>[This message may be redistributed for non-commercial use]
>
>
>-------------------------------------------------------
>Norman Bauman
>411 W. 54 St. Apt. 2D
>New York, NY 10019
>(212) 977-3223
><http://www.nasw.org/users/nbauman>
>Alternate address: nbauman at nasw.org
>-------------------------------------------------------