At Forum, Democrats Differ on Health Care

[cal04]

Funding Plans Include Raising Taxes, Ending War, Reshaping the Insurance System
Democratic presidential candidates were united here Saturday in pledging to provide universal health care to all Americans but differed over how quickly the changes could be achieved and, more important, whether they would have to raise taxes to pay for it.

The candidates addressed what has become perhaps the nation's most intractable domestic issue and all said that, because of rising costs of care and the lack of insurance for about 45 million Americans, incremental steps are no longer adequate.

"What we need is big, bold, dramatic change," former North Carolina senator John Edwards said.

New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton was part of the last significant effort to overhaul the system during her husband's administration. That attempt failed, but the Democratic candidates said Saturday that the conditions exist to push for dramatic change.

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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/24/AR2007032401079.html

[rubberducky]

1. Many, many people will die unless we come up with

some type of universal health care. I wonder how many deaths it will take before something is done. If you are not a very young child or on Medicare, you lose.

[Lasher]

2. It is of critical importance to go with single payer

We must disentangle ourselves from the current setup where we are paying tribute to the insurance companies. This is one reason a wholesale change is best.

[ProudDad]

3. HR676

Single-payer already exists -- it just has to be extended to cover everyone...