Clinton, Obama See Health Care as Key to White House

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While candidates for president are reluctant to take on a $2.1 trillion industry that makes up 16 percent of the U.S. economy, surveys show that a majority of Americans want the government to overhaul the system. To see the Web cast of the Las Vegas forum at 9:15 a.m. Pacific time March 24, go to http://www.seiu.org/ or http://www.walkadayinmyshoes2008.com/


http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=washingtonstory&sid=aTRXYw70pl_4


Clinton, Obama See Health Care as Key to White House (Update2)

By Aliza Marcus
March 22 (Bloomberg) -- The political environment may be right for the first time since former President Bill Clinton took on health care 14 years ago. The puzzle of how to hold down costs while providing health care to 47 million Americans who don't have it has only grown more intractable. The leading Democratic candidates will discuss solutions at a forum this weekend in Las Vegas. <snip>

Democrats see health care as an opportunity to seize the initiative on an issue where Republicans have little momentum. Romney and other Republican candidates declined invitations to speak at the health-care forum, at 9:15 a.m. local time March 24 in Las Vegas. <snip>

The candidates must find ways to provide more coverage without making people afraid that they will lose the benefits they already have, he and other advisers say. Another issue is whether to focus on America's uninsured or take on the entire health-care system, from rising costs to the role of insurance companies. <snip>

Edwards has proposed providing insurance for everyone in America within four years by expanding federal programs like Medicaid, the insurance system for the poor; giving tax credits to make insurance premiums more affordable; and creating what he calls health markets to offer insurance plans, according to the candidate's campaign Web site. Health markets would be state or multistate insurance pools offering a choice of plans, including government-run insurance based on Medicare, the federal health program for the elderly and disabled. Multistate pools generally aren't allowed now. <snip>

"I think the emphasis on children is a reasonable and sensitive one," said Paul Starr, a Princeton University professor who worked on the 1993 Clinton health plan. "You can move more quickly on something that is smaller. The difficulty with comprehensive proposals is that they affect so many different interests that it's difficult to move quickly." <snip>

Obama, 45, the first-term Illinois Senator, has promised to get everyone insured by the end of his first term as president. He hasn't said much else. <snip>