Senator Edward Kennedy on Healthcare in his own words:

[mmonk]

"If we have the will, we can solve these problems. We need a health care system that:

protects all Americans;

pays for all significant expenses;

offers a choice of doctors to all Americans;

ends the shameful disparities that undermine access to care and the quality of care for minorities;

emphasizes preventive medicine, including exercise, diet, reduced smoking and drinking, and regular checkups, screenings, and other diagnostic procedures;

restrains the rising cost of prescription drugs;

makes administrative record-keeping more efficient and less costly and makes maximum use of information technology to coordinate care, reduce errors, and minimize administrative expenses;

eases the growing burden on businesses of providing health insurance for their employees: and

invests fully in the National Institutes of Health, the source of so many of our most important medical breakthroughs.

The list is long, but we can accomplish much of it with a proposal I call Medicare for All. It would provide every American with high-quality and affordable health care, and enable all Americans to see the doctor of their choice. If organized properly, it would save administrative costs and keep pharmaceutical prices down. It would also greatly improve treatments by avoiding medical errors, covering those who now seek treatment only in emergencies, and providing realistic incentives for preventive care."

America Back On Track-Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Viking Press pp 132-133

Many will claim to be representing the Senator's intent and goals, so I thought that I would put them down in his words, so as to keep people honest. Let's hope the intra-party battle will produce these goals. If they are met, the bill should bear Ted Kennedy's name if for no other purpose than the many years he spent fighting for it. I think we owe him that.