Outside of the War in Iraq, arguably the most heated debate among the 2008 presidential candidates is the quest for affordable health care.
Although several candidates are still in the running for the nomination of the two major parties, many of the proposals on either side are similar.
On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton and John Edwards favor similar proposals that would mandate health insurance for all Americans, like auto insurance for all car owners, and would be paid for by government and employers. Barack Obama has said he does not favor requiring all Americans to purchase health care, but supports driving down costs so it is affordable to everyone.
On the Republican side, front-runners Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson have said they favor market-based health care that would be made more affordable through tax deductions, and increased competition. All oppose federally mandated health care. Romney said he would oppose a national plan of a version he helped pioneer as governor of Massachusetts that required everyone to have insurance.
Regardless of the outcome of the election, still 13 months away, many local business groups said health insurance is the number-one concern for businesses in the state.
“The chamber has long had as one of its priority issues the cost and access to affordable health care,” said Debbie Bogdanski, vice president of government initiatives and special projects for the Orange County Chamber of Commerce. “There is a need to have this conversation, along with strong research and input to come up with workable solutions.”
She said if health insurance were federally mandated and required employers to subsidize part of it, it would likely hurt local business, many of which are smaller businesses.
In Orange County, she said 90 percent of businesses have 25 or fewer employees.
“Any solution that is talked about has to be workable for that group,” she said.
Bogdanski said she hadn”™t heard any consensus among members of the Orange County Chamber of Commerce for a particular proposal that”™s been bandied about, but local businesses are glad the issue is at least being addressed seriously.
“They are certainly energized to hear that politicians recognize what they have been saying last 10 to 15 years,” she said. “Health care costs have risen much higher than the cost of inflation, and it is a major cost. The high cost of health care in this nation is something that needs to be addressed.”
According to David Shaffer, president of the Public Policy Institute, the research arm of the Business Council of New York state, the council will be sending out questions to its member organizations later this year to gauge their thoughts on the major health-care proposals. The council then plans to issue a report based on the feedback, he said.
Lance Matteson, president of the Ulster County Development Corporation, said his own personal opinion is that both major parties”™ proposals have merit and are also lacking in some respects.
Matteson said neither of the main proposals addresses the issue of prioritizing health-care needs.
“The (current) system allows almost any kind of health care to be paid for by the insurance system; there”™s no prioritization,” he said, meaning that health insurance can pay for life-saving medication as well as, for example, Viagra.
“But, where do you draw the line? That”™s a tough question to answer,” he said.
Matteson said a hybrid featuring some of the ideas of each major party could be effective.
“I would hope there”™d be some sort of hybrid,” he said. “Something close to universal health care and at same time that retains incentives and choice. Don”™t reduce competition.”
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