Health Care

Democrats believe that health care is a right and every American deserves quality medical care.

What are we up against?

• Adults ages 19 to 29 are the fastest growing age group of people who lack health insurance in the United States.
• Young Americans, including young families, recent graduates, students, and children, are especially hard hit by the health care crisis. Despite accounting for only 17 percent of the population, young adults are 30 percent of the uninsured Americans under the age of 65.
• Insurance companies aggressively limit essential care to patients based on pre-existing conditions and medical technicalities.
• The American health care system is inefficient, with nearly a quarter of all spending going to overhead costs and not patient care.
• Health care costs are out of control leading to limited and poor patient care, a dangerous number of personal bankruptcies, and a growing fear to seek medical attention among young people afraid to face the bill.

A vote for Democrats is a vote to make our nation's health care system universal, affordable, and efficient:

• Provide universal, government-run health care to all Americans.
• Require that all children have mandated health coverage.
• Allow young adults to keep health coverage from their parents' plans until they are 25 years old.
• Require that premiums and co-pays are fair and affordable.
• Make enrollment in the universal health care program simple.
• Make health care plans portable so a career change or a new job doesn't jeopardize coverage.
• Allow Americans to buy medicine from developed nations if the prices are lower than in the U.S.
• Strengthen anti-trust laws to prevent insurers from overcharging medical professionals for malpractice insurance.
• Convert medical record keeping to an electronic system to increase accuracy and portability or records while reducing medical errors and overhead expenses.
• Increase investment in life saving stem cell and other biomedical research is vital to developing new therapies and diagnostics.
• Increase investment in preventative care, promote healthier environments and lifestyle for children, and increase financial support for physical education for students.

Recent Democratic Accomplishments:

• Protected the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) for millions of children and enrolling millions more.
• Implemented largest veteran's health care increase in history.
• Expanded medical research to unlock promise of stem cell therapies.

These are just some of the policies, accomplishments, and solutions that Democrats are already pursuing. We know there are other great ideas out there, this list is by no means exhaustive. Share your thoughts, ideas, and solutions by submitting a comment below.