The Cost of Health Care

Summary

• The problem with health care in the US is not one of availability but one of cost.

Summary

• Democrats will attempt to impose a big-government solution.
• America has the highest quality health care in the world
• Our job is to preserve it, and to keep costs down.

"Well, let's talk about health care right now because the fact of the matter is that I do provide universal health care. The only difference between Senator Clinton's health care plan and mine is that she thinks the problem for people without health care is that nobody has mandated – forced – them to get health care. That's not what I'm seeing around Nevada. What I see are people who would love to have health care. They – they desperately want it. But the problem is they can't afford it, which is why we have put forward legislation – we've put forward a plan that makes sure that it is affordable to get health care that is as good as the health care that I have as a member of Congress."

"There will be efforts to raise your taxes. There will be efforts to have a single-payer big government solution by the Democrats. They've already espoused those causes. If you believe them, please take a trip to Canada or England before you decide to support such a thing. America has the highest quality health care in the world. Our job is to preserve it. Our job is to keep the costs down. Last year, the Medicaid inflation was 10 percent. No, no program in the world can survive under that. So of course we want to remove the employer tax, and tax incentives, and move it to the individual. Give the individual a $2,500 refundable tax credit, a family a $5,000 tax credit. If you need to have people in special categories such as congenital diseases, we may have to set up a fund to care for those. But the key is, make health care in America affordable and available."

November 15, 2007
Las Vegas, NV
Democratic Presidential Debate

October 21, 2007
Orlando, FL
Republican Presidential Debate