October 2006
- Health
Care Reform as an issue in the 2006 election cycle.
- The
Center for American Progress and The Center for American Progress Action
Fund Activities
- Join Us
For the
past year, The Center for American Progress and The
Center for American Progress Action Fund have been encouraging a
new generation of leaders to embrace real health care reform.
This
fall, candidates around the country are demonstrating their bold commitment to
reforming America's broken health care system. To quote Ben Cardin, candidate for Maryland's open U.S.
Senate seat, "I believe the most urgent problem facing our communities
is our broken health care system. Bernie Sanders, who is running for
Vermont's U.S. Senate seat, believes health care is one of the most important
issues facing the nation, stating, "We must
overhaul our disintegrating health care system and guarantee health care for all." Ohioan Sherrod Brown sees the issue in moral terms, noting, "We
must fix this broken system, or turn against our family values." And in Colorado, Ed Perlmutter, who is
running in the seventh Congressional district, says, "Our healthcare
system is broken and is need of a major overhaul."
These health
champions know that our broken health care system burdens families and American
businesses alike. As Jon Tester, a Senate candidate in Montana has said,
"the price of health care is not only a problem for America's 46
million uninsured; it's also hanging around the neck of American business."
Similarly, Betty Jo Kilroy, a U.S. House candidate in Ohio, has noted that "it's wrong for Ohioans and Ohio businesses
to be driven into economic
hardship by health care costs, which are a major reason for personal
bankruptcies in Ohio." And in Rhode Island, U.S. Senate candidate Sheldon
Whitehouse also states that "Families are paying more for health insurance. And each
year, more people are left uninsured, where they are one health care problem
away from bankruptcy."
These leaders express their commitment to fundamental
reform. In Tennessee, Senate candidate Harold Ford plainly states, "Patchwork fixes will no longer do
the job. Instead, we need to completely reform our current healthcare system. And Iowan Bruce Braley, who is running for a U.S.
House seat, says, "It is time to expand access to health care to all
Americans." Jill Derby, a candidate for Nevada's second
congressional House seat believes, "Our broken health care system gives
us opportunity to bring everyone to the table to hammer out a solution--because
no one's happy with what we've got."
U.S. Senate
Below is
a list of links to the health care statements of United States Senate
challengers:
Jim
Pederson: AZ
Ned Lamont: CT
Sherrod
Brown:
OH
Amy Klobuchar: MN
Claire McCaskill: MO
Jon
Tester: MT
Jack Carter: NV
Bob Casey: PA
S. Whitehouse: RI
Harold
Ford: TN
Peter Ashdown: UT
James Webb: VA
Bernie
Sanders: VT
Paid
television advertisements which address the issue of health care reform in US
Senate races include:
Sherrod Brown Ohio
Bernie Sanders
Vermont
Jon Tester Montana
Amy Klobuchar -Minnesota
Ben
Cardin Maryland
U.S. House of Representatives
Below is
a list of links to the health care web statements of candidates in some of the
most competitive U.S. House races:
Gabrielle
Giffords: AZ - CD 8
Jerry McNerney: CA
CD 11
Ed
Perlmutter: CO CD 7
Joe Courtney: CT CD 2
Diane
Farrell: CT CD 4
Chris Murphy: CT CD
5
Tammy Duckworth:
IL CD 6
Phil Hare: IL CD 17
Joe
Donnelly: IN - CD 2
Charlie Melancon: LA CD 3
Mike Stagg: LA CD 7
Coleen
Rowley: MN CD 2
Keith Ellison: MN CD
5
Patty Wetterling:
MN - CD 6
Heath Shuler: NC -
CD 11
Jill
Derby: NV - CD 2
Tessa Hafen: NV - CD 3
Mike
Arcuri: NY - CD 24
Dan Maffei: NY - CD 25
Eric
Massa: NY - CD 29
Vic Wulsin: OH - CD 2
Charlie Wilson: OH
- CD 6
Bob Shamansky: OH -
CD12
Betty
Sutton: OH - CD 13
Mary Jo Kilroy: OH - CD
15
Zack Space: OH - CD 18
Lois Murphy: PA - CD 6
Joe Sestak: PA -
CD 7
Nick
Lampson: TX - CD 22
Peter Welch: VT - At Large
Dr.
Steve Kagen: WI CD 8
Public Opinion Polls
In
addition to political candidates addressing the issue of health coverage and
health system reform, several recent polls have demonstrated that the American
public wants real reform.
According
to the mid-October New York Times/CBS News poll on issues important
to Ohio voters, health care was the second most significant issue to Ohioans when
deciding how to vote--second only to the general issue of the economy and jobs.
In this survey, health care mattered more to Ohio voters than terrorism and U.S.
operations in Iraq.
In Missouri's
hotly contested Senate race, health care has ranked as the first or second
issue on voters minds since October, according to polling
from McClatchy News-MSNBC.
An ABC News/Kaiser Family
Foundation/USA Today poll released Oct 17 found that:
- An overwhelming 80 percent
of the public is dissatisfied with the total cost of care in the nation,
including six in ten, or 58 percent, who are very dissatisfied with costs.
- About half the country--52
percent--say that the fact that more than 46 million Americans have no health
insurance is "a critical problem for the country."
The USA Today/Gallup poll of October 20 - October 22
indicates that 79 percent of Americans would support congressional action to
provide health insurance to those who are currently uninsured when the next
Congress convenes. This question assumes leadership changes in both the House
and Senate.
With the
American people demanding real change on the critical issue of health care
reform, and a new generation of leadership in the wings, 2007 is shaping up to
be a time of renewed action on this important problem.
Recent and Upcoming Health Care Events:
Monday, October 23, 2006
Gambier, Ohio
Diagnosing Health
Care Challenges: Rx for Reform
Featured Speaker:
Chris Jennings, White House Senior Health Care
Advisor to President Clinton
On
October 23, the Student Lectureship Committee of Kenyon College hosted Chris
Jennings for a discussion that drew on his more than
20 years of experience as a health policy expert in the White House, the U.S. Congress,
and the private sector to explore the politics and policy of health reform.
Thursday,
November 2, 2006 Cleveland Ohio - Case Western Reserve School of Medicine (invitation
only event)
An Open Dialogue on
the Role of Health Care Providers in Health System Reform
Featured
Speaker:
John Podesta, President and
Chief Executive Officer of the Center for American Progress Action Fund.
The Center for American
Progress Action Fund and the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
will hold an invitation only discussion with John Podesta to explore the
challenges that the current health care system poses for health professionals,
patients, and policymakers, and how doctors can use their unique insight and
real-life experiences to steer the nation towards a solution.
Thursday, November 9,
2006 Washington, DC
Health Issues in
the 2006 Election
The George Washington
University Medical Center and the Center for American Progress Action Fund will
host a discussion on the salience of health issues in the 2006 midterm election
and what the election may mean for policy and politics in the future. Pollster
Celinda Lake will present exit polling results on this issue in key House and
Senate races, with reaction and commentary by Anna Burger of the Service
Employees International Union, John Rother of the AARP, and Joe Antos of the American
Enterprise Institute. These leading strategists, activists, and scholars will
examine the significance of health care to voters and health policy in 2006 and
beyond.
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Location:
George Washington
University
The Jack Morton Auditorium
805 21st Street,
NW
Washington, DC 20052
RSVP
for this event
Join Us
Affordable health
coverage provides a minimal level of economic security for all Americans, and
allows them to save for retirement, plan for their children's education, or buy
a home. It's wrong for anyone who works hard and plays by the rules to go
without health care or be driven into economic hardship by health care costs.
Please become a health
champion today by joining our efforts and tracking our progress.
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