Gov. Bill Richardson said today that it will take $100 billion give every American health insurance, but said he would offset the cost as president by expanding preventative coverage and reducing administrative costs.
“We need universal health care now,” Richardson said during a speech in Iowa. “Now is the time. For every American who wants to look a suffering loved one in the eye and tell them that tomorrow will be better than today – now is the time. For the good of our nation, now must be the time.”
You can read the text of Richardson’s speech by clicking here and the details of his plan here. Here’s a summary:
• Coverage – Richardson’s plan would guarantee coverage for all Americans though the same plan provided to members of Congress, Medicare for those 55-64, Medicaid and SCHIP for low-income families, existing family coverage for adults up to age 25 and a “Heroes Health Card” for veterans. His plan would also require that insurance companies not deny coverage for pre-existing conditions.
• Cost – Richardson’s plan would require all Americans to have coverage, require employees to contribute to plans, institute a sliding-scale tax credit for those who need assistance and provide “relief from high interest rates for medical debt placed on credit cards.” He said streamlining administration and investing in prevention would save up to $110 billion per year, which would pay for the plan.
• Care – Richardson says his plan would improve health care by “promoting evidence-based care and comparative effectiveness research,” creating more transparency on price and quality of care, restructuring incentives for high-quality care, improving patient safety and ensuring an adequate health-care workforce.
Richardson said reform is necessary.
“We spent over $2.2 trillion a year on health care in this country. We all know that we’re not getting what we’ve paid for,” he said. “We need to require that all health plans cover a standard set of proven preventative services. If there’s one thing better than a patient’s being cured of disease, it’s his never having had it at all.”
You can read more from the Associated Press by clicking here.
Gov. Bill Richardson said today that it will take $100 billion give every American health insurance, but said he would offset the cost as president by expanding preventative coverage and reducing administrative costs.