Clark's...........Turnaround Plan for America: Health Care

[in_cog_ni_to]

I have always been an advocate of preventative care. Clark's healthcare plan is offering just that. See what you think. He was in Knoxville, Tennessee today to announce the final part of his Turnaround Plan for America. He explains his program to expand coverage to more than 30 million Americans. What do you think? There's an analysis of his plan toward the end and his plan is compared to the other candidates.

Clark's plan is based on three principles: value, affordability, and coverage.

<snip>
Value: Getting more bang for your health care buck. Clark's plan will ensure that all Americans have access to services that diagnose diseases early, improve health, and constrain long-term costs.

"One of the great benefits of the health care I had in the Army was that it emphasized prevention every step of the way," Clark said, "from annual physicals, to cholesterol screenings, to routine check-ups. My health care plan gives all Americans those same benefits."

Affordability: Clark's proposal will give health insurance tax credits for families making up to $90,000. Skyrocketing premiums squeeze middle-class families and are driving up family bankruptcies. Clark's plan will provide tax credits to make health care more affordable for middle-class families.

Coverage: Clark's initiative will guarantee universal coverage for children, universal access for all Americans and more affordable access for all working families.<snip>

More.....


http://www.americansforclark.com/story/44/

An independent analysis, by Kenneth E. Thorpe of Emory University, comparing the health care proposals of the Democratic candidates, found that Clark's plan expands coverage to more Americans than most of the other Democratic candidates' proposals at a lower cost.

The analysis.

http://www.americansforclark.com/issues/healthcare/comparison.pdf

[jpgpenn]

1. Thanks

I haven't had a chance to read this.

[Democrats unite]

2. Thanks for the info

eom

[SoCalDem]

3. The problem with the tax credit idea

is that if you do not HAVE the extra $500.00 a month to buy the insurance in the first place, a tax credit at the end of the year will do you no good.. and for the people who do not "pay" income taxes, but are not poor enough for medicaid,are royally screwed..

A better idea would be to give every "uncovered" person a card with a magnetic strip on it.. They could go anywhere they wanted, and the doctor could bill a "fund" set up to pay those bills..

yearly physical
basic bloodwork and other tests for diseases

That way people would actually go to the doctor once a year..

[DuctapeFatwa]

4. You are right. & as long as health care is just another commercial product

No matter how skilled the speechwriter or how pretty the words, you are still going to have sick people who are not able to go to the doctor and/or buy the medicine s/he prescribes for them.

There really is just not any way around this, and I think that all the candidates would get more respect from the voters and from each other if they would just go ahead and be upfront about that.

[Paulie]

5. Where is the Kucinich plan in the Comparison?

He's the only one for single payer. Seriously, you can't call your plan cheaper unless you compare it to the single payer alternative.

Quickly reading his plan, it's going to setup a commission to STUDY everything about healthcare, including treatments and alternatives. Based on Tax Credits. So, once the comission finishes it's work (how long will that be), then we'll see what the deal is? eek!

The Kucinich Plan: Everyone in, nobody out. Medicare for All.

How is it paid:

Non-profit national health insurance will decrease total healthcare spending while providing more treatment and services -- through reductions in bureaucracy and cost-cutting measures such as bulk purchasing of prescriptions drugs. Funding will come primarily from existing government healthcare spending (more than $1 trillion) and a phased-in tax on employers of 7.7% (almost $1 trillion). The employers' tax is less than the 8.5% of payroll now paid on average by companies that provide private insurance.