Getting to Know the Candidates and the Issues: Health Care Reform

Following the 2008 Presidential Election? Starting today, I will be posting a regular weekly blog on the election and the issues at the heart of the political debates. For each issue, you will be able to interact with a map to find out more about the problem, find out what the candidates are saying and where they stand on the issue, weigh in on your own opinion and see immediately how others around the country feel about the issue. So, stop by every Wednesday and get to know the issues and the candidates! Today’s focus is on health care reform.

Issue: Should the U.S. government ensure universal access to health care?

Looks like Michael Moore is at it again – This time attacking the U.S. health care system. His latest film, SICKO, takes jabs at the large, profit driven insurance companies and illustrates through a series of satirical vignettes how the United States, as one of the wealthiest nations in the world, has a health care system that is far from accessible to many. Not surprising, this issue has been central to the recent political debates.

One aspect of this problem that people are talking about is access to health insurance. As Michael Moore and many others have recently noted, nearly 45 million people in the U.S. do not have health insurance. That’s roughly 15% of the population.

Here’s a little more insight on the problem. The map below plots the percentage of individuals with no health insurance by county, using 2000 data from the U.S. Census, Current Population Survey. One can see that the real area of concern is in portions of the South and most prominently, along the U.S. – Mexico border. In fact, in Hudspeth County, along the border, nearly 40% are without health insurance.

//

How are the candidates weighing in on the issue?

Here are some revealing quotes from some of the recent presidential debates:

Hillary Clinton: “What’s important and what I learned in the previous effort is you’ve got to have the political will… standing firm when the inevitable attacks come from the insurance companies and the pharmaceutical companies…”

John Edwards: “I’m proud of the fact that I was the first person to come out with a specific, truly universal health care plan…I’d pay for it by getting rid of Bush’s tax cuts for people who make $200,000 a year.”

Rudy Giuliani: “The problem with our health insurance is it’s government and employer-dominated. People don’t make individual choices. It’s your health; you should own your health insurance.”

John McCain “Another one I think is important is a $3,000 tax credit for people to be able to purchase health insurance, so low- income Americans will have access to health care…”

Barack Obama: “My belief is that most families want health care but they can’t afford it. And so my emphasis is on driving down the costs, taking on the insurance companies, making sure that they are limited in the ability to extract profits and deny coverage…”

Mitt Romney: “The market can work to solve our health care needs, and that’s the great, exciting news.

How do you weigh in on the issue?

Want to find out more about the issue of health reform in the United States?

Use the key word “health” in geocommons to find a variety of data on different aspects of the issue – e.g., access to physicians, hospice care, health insurance coverage for immigrants and mortality and incidence rates for a range of diseases and disorders.