"Healthcare is a right, not a privilege"

Hillary Clinton, one of the seven democratic candidates present at the March 24th forum on healthcare at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said that she “hoped to make health care the number one voting issue in the 2008 election.” One might question her enthusiasm for such emphasis on the issue, when in the not so distant past her 1994 universal healthcare proposal was an utter failure. But Senator Clinton’s new plan to tackle the healthcare dilemma in the United States has many good qualities and similarities with the other democratic candidates proposals.

John Edwards approach is to raise taxes in order to cover the costs of universal healthcare, under his plan employers would either have to cover their employees or pay into a fund that would finance the coverage. Senators Clinton and Obama agreed with Edwards on that prevision, but Obama did not have a strong or definitive plan and was reluctant to take a strong stand. Whether his lack of a detailed plan is an early sign of his campaigns failed progress, or a strategic move on his part, is up for interpretation. Part of Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico’s’ plan was that after we are out of Iraq he would redirect the funds to go to healthcare. Representative Dennis J. Kucinich of Ohio presented the possibility of creating a universal single-payer plan, which was similar to Senator Mike Gravels’ of Alaska, who also spoke about a voucher program.

The obvious emphasis on the need for universal healthcare is going to be a crucial part of the 2008 presidential elections, but more responsibility needs to be placed on the insurance companies. As Senator Clinton pointed out, that when insurance companies aren’t doing everything they can to deny people coverage, especially those with preexisting health conditions and who really need it, they are charging much higher premiums and trying to avoid paying for any healthcare that people do receive. Not only will the healthcare issue be a major part of who gets elected as the next president of the United States, but it will also play a large role in defining their first term and the effectiveness of their presidency in its entirety.