Role of Healthcare in Presidential Primaries
By: Amanda Salem
Updated: February 20, 2008
Healthcare has become a big platform issue for all candidates in this year’s presidential race.
Experts say
Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator Barak Obama are pushing for national healthcare in some form. Others, like Mike Huckabee and Senator John McCain, oppose federally mandated universal coverage; however, they are looking for other solutions to make healthcare more affordable. Hospital officials say they hope our government will work together on the issue because treating those without insurance affects everyone.
"They're coming into the hospitals, into the emergency rooms, with an acute problem that could've been avoided. The hospitals treat them because it is a life-threatening illness when they come in. And they run up substantial debt that they either, more likely, don't pay, or the hospitals have to absorb that. In our case, it would be the
Experts say there are about 47 million Americans without health insurance.
