With the presidential election just weeks away, where do the candidates stand on the healthcare issues, specifically Healthcare Reform? Following are 6 issues which are pivotal to this year’s political race.
- Healthcare Reform?
- Health insurance coverage?
- Pre-existing conditions?
- Medicare?
- Medicaid?
- Medical Malpractice
So where do the presidential candidates stand on each of these issues?
| Issue | Obama | Romney |
| Healthcare Reform | Pass as is | Repeal and replace and grant states waivers from healthcare reform |
| Health insurance coverage | For current employers offering insurance – no change. For individuals purchasing insurance independent of their employer – health insurance exchanges | Tax breaks for individuals buying insurance to equate to the pre-tax options offered by employers |
| Pre-existing conditions | Remove pre-existing conditions disallowing coverage denial solely on this basis | Guarantee coverage for those with health conditions who already have insurance |
| Medicare | Reduce payments to providers , roll back federal subsidies to private Medicare Advantage plans, curb waste and fraud | Turn Medicare into a premium support system, where recipients get a certain amount to purchase insurance, remove the Independent Payment Advisory Board. |
| Medicaid | Expand Medicaid but allow states to opt out of the Medicaid expansion with no penalties | Turn the federal portion of Medicaid funding into block grants (lump sum payments). Cap annual growth at the rate of inflation + 1% |
| Medical Malpractice | Not included in Healthcare Reform | Cap noneconomic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits and provide innovation grants to states to test other reforms such as alternative dispute resolution and healthcare courts. |
Healthcare Reform is one of the critical issues surrounding the presidential election. There are so many provisions which are to become effective through 2015. Where do you stand on these issues? What are your thoughts? November 6, 2012 is right around the corner and your vote counts.
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