Obama & Clinton Debate Health Care

In last night's Democratic debate, Senators Clinton and Obama argued over their plans to establish universal health care in the United States. The details were hard to follow because most of their disagreements were over what each candidate had done to allegedly misrepresent the other's plan. What is the difference between the health care plans?

Obama charges that Clinton's plan would 'force' all Americans to obtain health insurance, 'whether they can afford it or not'. Clinton defends this accusation by stating that her plan would subsidize coverage for those who cannot afford it.

Clinton asserts that Obama's plan would not work, in the same way that Social Security would not have worked if Franklin Roosevelt had made it optional.

Obama defended his position by explaining that people want health insurance coverage, and if it were affordable, people would invest in it because it's a 'good deal'. Obama's plan does require that parents obtain health insurance coverage for their children, but also stipulates that young people will be covered under their parents' insurance until the age of 25.

While Hillary Clinton has a great deal of experience in fighting for universal health care, Obama contends that she has not been successful in bringing the powerful players together to make it happen. Clinton has admitted that she learned a lot after her health care initiative failed in 1993.

The focus of the 16 minute health care discussion that opened the debate was whether or not health coverage should be mandated. Obama and Clinton have very similar plans aside from this detail. In either case, the fight for universal health care will be an uphill battle. Depending on public and legislative sentiment, not to mention health insurance and pharmaceutical companies, the details of either plan may have to be altered to ultimately be successful.

Barack Obama's Health Plan

Obama's Plan for a Healthy America will offer a new national health plan to all Americans that is similar to the plan covering Congressmen. Obama's Health Plan will have features including:

• Guaranteed Eligibility: no one will be refused insurance because of illness or pre-existing conditions
• Comprehensive Benefits: the plan will cover all essential medical services including preventive, maternity and mental health care
• Easy Enrollment
• Ability to move from job to job without jeopardizing health care coverage
• Affordable premiums, co-pays and deductibles
• Mandatory coverage of children
  

Hillary Clinton's Health Plan

Hillary Clinton's web site describes her 'American Health Choices Plan' as affordable, available and reliable. The plan is to cover ALL Americans and improve health care quality while decreasing expenses.

How will Hillary's Health Plan ensure affordable health insurance coverage for every American?

• Provide Tax Relief: working families get a refundable tax credit to assist in acquiring high quality coverage
• Create Small Business Tax Credit: health care tax credit for small businesses will offer incentive for employee based coverage
  
• Limit Premium Payments to a Percentage of Income: refundable tax credit will prevent premiums from exceeding a set percentage of family's income
  
• Start a Retiree Health Legacy Initiative: to offset a substantial portion of catastrophic expenditures, a new tax credit for qualifying public and private retiree health insurance plans
• Strengthen Medicaid and CHIP: plan will fix problems with safety net to protect most vulnerable members of American society

The plan would allow Americans to select a plan from the same Health Care Menu offered to members of Congress, or keep your current plan.

Infertility May Be Prevented With Diet & Lifestyle Changes

Boston, Massachusetts
2007 October 31
Harvard School of Public Health


The November 2007 issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology reports that women who implemented five or more lifestyle changes, such as altering certain aspects of their diet, experienced over eighty percent less relative risk of infertility (due to ovulatory disorders) than women who did not implement such changes. Factors include protein, fat and dairy consumption as well as iron levels and exercise.

About the Harvard School of Public Health: Harvard School of Public Health is dedicated to advancing the public's health through learning, discovery, and communication. More than 300 faculty members are engaged in teaching and training the 900-plus student body in a broad spectrum of disciplines crucial to the health and well being of individuals and populations around the world. Programs and projects range from the molecular biology of AIDS vaccines to the epidemiology of cancer; from risk analysis to violence prevention; from maternal and children's health to quality of care measurement; from health care management to international health and human rights.

Read the article in full.

APA Offers Disaster & Mental Health Resources to California Fire Victims

In an effort to help those affected by the California wildfires, the American Psychiatric Association has offered advice on how best to cope with this type of trauma. Suggestions for maintaining good mental health in this type of situation include:

- Talk to friends and family who are experiencing the same feelings
- Stay informed of new developments but do not obsess or watch news coverage constantly
- If feelings of anxiety and depression continue, seek help from a psychiatric professional

For more information, read the full article.

75 ,000 Deaths Attributed to Gap in Quality Health Care

The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) reports that the quality of health care is continually improving for about 84 million Americans. Over 100 million Americans, however, are missing out on this level of health care. NCQA attributes an estimated 75,000 deaths to this gap in health care. Visit the NCQA web site to read this article in full.

RWJF Links Childhood Obesity with TV Ads & School Policies

Press Release
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Chicago, IL

Studies released in a special edition of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine indicate that childhood obesity can be partially attributable to soft drink company contracts with middle schools & high schools, a disproportionate number of fast food restaurants in low income neighborhoods and advertising that encourages young people to spend their money on junk food.

Find information on family and individual health insurance options.

To read the article in its entirety, please visit the RWJF Newsroom.

Employer-Based Health Care Coverage Dropping for Low and Moderate Income Families, says UCLA Center for Health Policy Research

Californians living at or below the poverty level are becoming less likely to obtain job-based health insurance coverage. From 2001 to 2005, coverage for California workers living below the poverty level dropped from 19.1% to 13.7%.

The decline is even more dramatic for those living at the poverty level. In this group, the percentage of individuals with coverage dropped from 42.6% to just 33%. To read the full news release, visit the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research web site.