Clinton stand on Health care

US Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton brought up the topic of health care, an issue that stirred a hornet’s nest fourteen years back, in her presidential campaign yesterday.

The speech delivered before medical professionals and students of George Washington University pertained to lowering of costs of health care while it evaded the serious issue of health care coverage. The Democratic Senator introduced a seven point programme aimed at lowering of costs, limiting inefficiencies and bureaucracy as well as prevention of diseases.

"I believe that equally importantly to having a plan, we have to have a political consensus, and that is what I am trying to develop as I talk about health care and engage in a conversation with the American people, because I think Americans are ready for change", said the senator from New York.

The health care plan involves seven steps. Beginning with a ‘Preventive initiative’ to prevent diseases like diabetes, the plan also includes computerization to modernize health care records. Next step allows for changes in the care of chronically ill patients. Putting an end to ‘Insurance discrimination’ by providing special care to patients with pre-existing conditions is next in line.

The plan also includes setting up of a “best practices institute” inclusive of government and private participants to determine standards of health care. Next comes legalizing of import of ‘prescription drugs’ and encouraging Medicare to lower drug prices. The last step includes ‘common sense’ implementation to the medical malpractice system.

While Senator Clinton may have made lowering of costs the basis of her stand on health care, American voters are waiting with baited breath to see what stand Senator Barrack Obama takes in his health care address in Iowa next week. He is expected to touch on the issue of expansion of health insurance as well as cutting costs of health care.

According to Drew E. Altman, "The candidates have different starting positions with the voters on health care". Altman is the president of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, an institute that does extensive research and polling on the health policy of different candidates.