Democratic candidates' proposed health care plans: campaign 2004.(Practice Trends)

With nine Democratic candidates currently running for president, keeping track of each one's proposal for improving access to health insurance can get a bit confusing.

Does the plan use incremental steps or cover everyone at once? Use a single-payer system or keep the current employer-based system? Spend lots more money than we're currently spending, or use the funds that are already allocated to health care?

The chart below outlines the basics of each candidate's proposal as of press time. Five favor working within the current employer-based health insurance system, while two others favor implementing a single-payer system financed by the government; one candidate does not express a preference for a particular system and another has not yet developed a complete proposal.

Like most of the Democratic candidates, President Bush favors keeping the current employer-based system, but he also wants to make some changes. The president favors loosening restrictions on association health plans--plans formed by groups of small employers who want to use their combined bargaining power to negotiate lower rates with insurers. And he wants to give $89 million in tax credits to make insurance more affordable to low- and middle-income families. He also wants to pass a "Patient's Bill of Rights," which he says would leave medical decisions in the hands of physicians instead of insurance companies.

More detailed information on each plan is available on the candidates" Web sites; information on President Bush's proposals is at www.whitehouse.gov. And, of course, proposals may change as the campaigns continue and some candidates drop out.

 
                                    Additional    Additional 
                      Type          People        Yearly Cost 
Name                  Of Plan       Covered       (in billions) 
 
Wesley Clark *        N/A           N/A           N/A 
 
Howard Dean           Employer      31 million    $88 
                      based 
 
John Edwards          Employer      21 million    $53 
                      based 
 
Dick Gephardt         Employer      30 million    $101 
                      based 
 
John Kerry            Employer      27 million    $72 
                      based 
 
Dennis Kucinich       Single        Entire U.S.   $2,200 
                      payer         population    (Represents 
                                                  total federal 
                                                  spending on 
                                                  health care.) 
 
Joe Lieberman         Employer      32 million    $54 
                      based 
 
Carol Moseley Braun   Single        Entire U.S.   N/A 
                      payer         population 
 
Al Sharpton           No specific   Entire U.S.   Wants to keep 
                      plan          population    spending at 
           ...