Election 2008
The presidential election season is in full swing, and the leading candidates continue to release more details about their proposals to reform health care in the U.S. However, these proposals can often be difficult to sort through. ACP has developed several tools to help you take a critical-eye to these plans and ways for you to get involved. Building upon our Candidate’s Pledge to Make the U.S. Health Care System Second to None issued in January 2008, ACP offers a comparison of the presidential candidates’ health reform proposals.
A Comparison of Presidential Candidates
Choose from one of the five Pledges below to help you analyze the health platforms of the 2008 presidential candidates.
- Guarantee by law that everyone has access to affordable health coverage
. Coverage should be without regard to their place of employment, place of residence within the United States or income. - Provide every person with access to a primary care physician. Create workforce and payment policies to increase the numbers of primary care physicians, recognize the value of primary care, and support care organized through a patient-centered medical home.
- Increase public investment in health information technologies (HIT). Provide positive incentives to physicians to overcome the HIT cost barrier.
- Reduce administrative expenses. Create a uniform billing system for all health insurance transactions at the point of care. Reform the medical liability system using proven legal reforms.
- Increase funding for research. Fund basic and applied medical research, health services research and independent research on the effectiveness, costs and benefits of different treatments compared to each other.
Why you may want to consider voting with health care in mind.
The Internist’s Professional Responsibility to Advocate in the Public Policy Arena— Find out why it is important for physicians to vote, and why it is important to take into account the challenges you face as physicians when you do cast your vote.
An in-depth analysis of issues important to ACP in evaluating the 2008 candidates’ health care plans.
On Dec. 4, 2007 ACP released Achieving a High Performance Health Care System with Universal Access, a policy paper that outlines how to improve health care in the U.S. The paper provides a comprehensive plan that includes improving access, quality, and efficiency of health care.
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Policy Highlights
Achieving Affordable Health Insurance for All Within Seven Years: A proposal from America's Internists, Updated 2008 - May 2008
Establishing Federal Guidelines Protecting Against Genetic Discrimination - March 2008
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