Tag: presidential election

Comparing the candidates’ health care promises- how Americans’ medical care may change in 2016

In this post, I review and summarize what each candidate proposes and plans according to information on their official websites. I’ll give you the links and encourage you to read them for yourself.

In 3 months, on November 8, 2016, United States citizens will elect the 45th President.

This graphic from USA.GOV reviews the process of electing the President.

How to become President inforgraphic
The Presidential pathway from USA.gov

I plan to vote and hope you will too if you are eligible. 

I don’t endorse a candidate on this blog because I want everyone who visits to feel welcome, and politics is not the focus of this blog. But I am watching the campaign closely; I listened to the major speeches at both of the major party conventions.

I am especially interested in the candidates’ views on health care. Health care was a major issue in the last election and proved to be momentous.

In his campaign, the Democratic candidate, Barack Obama, promised health care reform and as President he delivered with the passage of the Affordable Care Act, the first time Americans have had universal health care.This election’s  major party candidates also make promises about health care.

 

 

 The 2016 Presidential candidates

In this post, I review and summarize what each candidate proposes and plans according to information on their official websites. I’ll give you the links and encourage you to read them for yourself.

The Republican party convention occurred first, so I will start with its candidate.

Republican- Donald J. Trump, Chairman and President, The Trump Organization

 

 

 

“Healthcare Reform to Make America Great Again”

Mr. Trump believes the Affordable Care Act, which he refers to as Obamacare, is an “economic burden” to the country. He says it has caused

  • Runaway costs,
  • Websites that don’t work,
  • Greater rationing of care
  • Higher premiums
  • Less competition
  • Fewer choices

He recommends a

“series of reforms that follow free market principles and restore economic freedom and certainty” , which will

“broaden healthcare access, make healthcare more affordable and improve the quality of the care available to all Americans.”

As President, Mr. Trump will request Congress to

  1. Completely repeat Obamacare, eliminate the individual mandate to buy health insurance.
  2. Modify existing law that inhibits the sale of health insurance across state lines.
  3. Allow individuals to fully deduct health insurance premium payments from their tax returns.
  4. Allow individuals to use Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), which should be tax free, allowed to accumulate, and become part of one’s estate at death.
  5. Require price transparency from all healthcare providers.
  6. Block-grant Medicaid to the states.
  7. Remove barriers to entry into free markets for drug providers, allowing consumers access to imported, safe and dependable drugs from overseas.

Also under his health care plan, Mr. Trump includes

  • Enforcing immigration laws
  • Eliminating fraud and waste
  • Energizing our economy
  • Reform our mental health programs and institutions
Oval Office replica
replica of the Oval Office at the Reagan Presidential Library-photo by Dr. Aletha

Next, the  Democratic Party convened and nominated its candidate-

Democrat-Hillary Rodham Clinton, lawyer, former First Lady and Secretary of State

 

 

 

“Universal, quality, affordable health care for everyone in America”

  1. Maintain and expand the Affordable Care Act
  2. Bring down out-of-pocket costs for copays, deductibles and prescription drugs
  3. Expand access to care for low income groups, immigrants and rural populations.
  4. Defend access to reproductive health care.

As President, Mrs. Clinton will work with Congress to

Fight addiction and substance abuse with prevention, treatment and recovery programs and reforming the criminal justice system handling of offenders.

Set a goal to prevent, treat and cure Alzheimer’s Disease by 2025. Help those affected and their families get the care they need.

Create an AIDS/HIV policy to increase research, expand treatment options, increase health care financial options for those affected, and eliminate discriminatory laws.

Develop an “autism initiative” to expand insurance coverage, increase funding for research, early identification and intervention, employment opportunities, and school safety.

Commit to fully implement the Americans with Disabilities Act, and increase support for persons with disabilities and their families.

Under the heading of health Mrs. Clinton includes her positions and proposals for

  • Climate change
  • Women’s rights and opportunity
  • Support for veterans, the military and their families
  • Paid family and medical leave
couches in room with Presidential seal on the floor
another view of the Oval Office replica by Dr Aletha

Follow this link to read about another woman, a physician, who is running for President-

From the O.R. to the Oval Office- 3 Docs Who Ran

exploring the HEART of healthcare policy

Please explore some of the other posts on this blog about the United States’ healthcare system . Here’s one to get you started .

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From the O.R. to the Oval Office- 3 Docs Who Ran

Anyone who is following the United States Presidential campaign knows it has become one of the most unexpected, unpredictable, and contentious races in history. And so far the candidates are only vying for their parties’ nominations.

The qualifications for President are fairly simple (at least it seemed so until the controversy over Mr. Obama’s birth certificate.)

U.S. Constitution Requirements for a Presidential Candidate:
  • Be at least 35 years old
  • Be a natural-born citizen of the United States
  • Been a resident of the United States for 14 years

In the Naturalization Act of 1790, the First Congress provided that children of citizens of the United States, that may be born beyond the sea, . . . shall be considered as natural born citizens . . . . Thus Senator John McCain of Arizona, born in the Panama Canal Zone; Governor George Romney of Michigan, born in Mexico, and Senator Barry Goldwater of Arizona, born in Arizona before it became a state were all eligible to run for president, though none of them won. Senator Barack Obama, born in Hawaii when it was a state, was eligible and won the presidency in 2008.

How to become President inforgraphic
The Presidential pathway from USA.gov

The election process is anything but simple. The candidates campaign to secure delegates to their party’s convention through caucuses or primaries in each state. Then at the convention they must win the nomination to be on the ballot to win the electors in each state.

Finally, the Electoral College votes on which candidate will be President. Even that might not be final since in one recent election  the final decision ended up in the Supreme Court (Bush vs Gore).

Holding the office of the President is our country’s highest honor but the job of president has become so thankless I wonder why anyone wants to do it. But I am grateful that people volunteer for and seek the position, and this year three of the candidates are physicians. (three that I discovered; if you know of others, please tell me.)

These posts are meant to inform, not influence you; they do not indicate an endorsement of the candidates. I will not promote or endorse any candidate on this blog.

In medical usage, progress notes are “Records kept by health care workers to indicate the course of the patient during care”

I have written some “progress notes” about each candidate that will give you a glimpse into their professional, personal and political lives.

statue of George Washington in Manhattan
statue of General George Washington, first President of the United States of America – New York City

Jill Stein, M.D.- Green Party candidate 

Dr. Stein, an internist,  is running for President for the Green Party.

Here are some notes about her.

  1. Dr. Stein graduated from Harvard Medical School.
  2. Her hobbies include writing and performing music.
  3. She ran for President in 2012, also on the Green Party ticket.
  4. She is a physician’s wife, mother, internal medicine physician/teacher and “environmental-health advocate.”
  5. She developed the “Healthy People, Healthy Planet” teaching program.
  6. She has been interviewed on the Today Show, 20/20 and Fox News network.
  7. In Massachusetts she ran for Governor, State Representative and Secretary of State.
  8. She co-founded the Massachusetts Coalition for Healthy Communities, a non-profit organization.
  9. She likes to walk with her Great Dane Bandita.
  10. She has advocated for several environmental issues in her home state-
  • Mercury contamination of fish
  • The “Filthy Five” coal plants clean up
  • Mercury and dioxin contamination from burning trash

The Presidential Oval Office at the Reagan Library
a replica of the White House Oval Office at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library

Next post- two Republican candidates  are doctors.

Do you know who they are?