Kerry promotes his plan for catastrophic care
October 16, 2003 - Mason City Globe Gazette - by John Skipper
MASON CITY, IA -
U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., said Wednesday his national health insurance plan creates federal funding to help pay costs of catastrophic illnesses.
Kerry, meeting with The Globe Gazette editorial board, said he would finance new health-care initiatives by eliminating Bush tax cuts targeted for the top two income brackets but would retain the others.
"I don't want to get rid of the whole Bush tax cut. I don't want to penalize the middle class, nor do we need to," said Kerry. Under his plan, tax cuts would be eliminated for persons making $200,000 or more annually.
Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean and U.S. Rep. Richard Gephardt of Missouri, two of Kerry's chief rivals for the nomination, have both advocated scrapping the entire Bush tax-cut program and using the money to help finance health care reforms, said Kerry.
He said his plan for national health insurance would cost $75 billion a year, about one-third of what Gephardt's would cost.
A major part of his program is creation of a $35 billion federal fund that would pay 75 percent of the cost of every catastrophic illness in a company's health insurance pool. Through his plan, the government would help pay claims of $50,000 or more.
While these represent only four-tenths of 1 percent of all claims, they represent 20 percent of all health insurance payouts, said Kerry.
He said a big advantage to his plan is that health care premiums would be reduced by about 10 percent across the board.
Kerry took his message to senior citizens earlier Wednesday when he spoke to a crowd of more than 100 that gathered in the Mason City Room of the public library.
Calling his program a "Compact With the Greatest Generation," he said, "senior citizens should be able to count on Medicare and Social Security, on affordable prescription drugs and on quality options for long-term care."
He pledged to work for a prescription drug benefit that would be part of Medicare.
"Prescription drug costs are rising by almost 20 percent a year. A lot of that is because the big drug companies are gouging seniors while making millions for their top executives," he said.
October 16, 2003 - Mason City Globe Gazette - by John Skipper
MASON CITY, IA -
U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., said Wednesday his national health insurance plan creates federal funding to help pay costs of catastrophic illnesses.
Kerry, meeting with The Globe Gazette editorial board, said he would finance new health-care initiatives by eliminating Bush tax cuts targeted for the top two income brackets but would retain the others.
"I don't want to get rid of the whole Bush tax cut. I don't want to penalize the middle class, nor do we need to," said Kerry. Under his plan, tax cuts would be eliminated for persons making $200,000 or more annually.
Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean and U.S. Rep. Richard Gephardt of Missouri, two of Kerry's chief rivals for the nomination, have both advocated scrapping the entire Bush tax-cut program and using the money to help finance health care reforms, said Kerry.
He said his plan for national health insurance would cost $75 billion a year, about one-third of what Gephardt's would cost.
A major part of his program is creation of a $35 billion federal fund that would pay 75 percent of the cost of every catastrophic illness in a company's health insurance pool. Through his plan, the government would help pay claims of $50,000 or more.
While these represent only four-tenths of 1 percent of all claims, they represent 20 percent of all health insurance payouts, said Kerry.
He said a big advantage to his plan is that health care premiums would be reduced by about 10 percent across the board.
Kerry took his message to senior citizens earlier Wednesday when he spoke to a crowd of more than 100 that gathered in the Mason City Room of the public library.
Calling his program a "Compact With the Greatest Generation," he said, "senior citizens should be able to count on Medicare and Social Security, on affordable prescription drugs and on quality options for long-term care."
He pledged to work for a prescription drug benefit that would be part of Medicare.
"Prescription drug costs are rising by almost 20 percent a year. A lot of that is because the big drug companies are gouging seniors while making millions for their top executives," he said.
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