Republican candidates for governor on health care
Each of the four Republicans running for governor have offered up their own health care proposals. Here are summaries and links to their online versions:
Bill Graham
The Salisburry lawyer writes on his web site:
WE must develop a market-based, consumer-driven reform plan that makes health insurance more affordable. As governor, I would institute a community risk pool for all uninsured North Carolinians. By doing so, WE can spread the risk among a large population and be able to offer affordable private health plans to our citizens, much like a large company would do for its employees. Similar pools already exist in other states on a smaller level. WE can do this for the uninsured citizens of North Carolina. As governor, I can broker affordable and accessible health care plans with private insurers who do business in our state by leveraging the combined bargaining power of our citizens and state government.
Pat McCrory
McCrory, the Charlotte mayor who just entered the race in January, does not mention health care on the issues page of his web site, but in a statement to WRAL in advance of an earlier debate, McCrory did write that he would liketo "ensure that every North Carolina resident has easy access to quality, affordable health care."
Bob Orr
The former Supreme Court justice writes on his web site: "We must work in concert with the private sector and our world class academic institutions to implement policies that maximize North Carolina's competitive advantages in providing quality care and driving growth and innovation in the medical field. Over the next two decades, we must revitalize our health care system, expand preventive care, and adopt a market-based approach to health insurance."
Fred Smith
The state senator writes on his web site that there are five things the state ought to do, including: "Use Health Savings Accounts to make healthcare consumer-driven. HSAs allow for more flexibility, individual control, tax savings, and future medical savings. Businesses are also using them with increasing effectiveness to cut costs," and "Reform medical liability laws. North Carolina's leading doctors should help shape those laws - not trial lawyers - so that good doctors can quit practicing defensive medicine."
Comments (1)
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The single biggest thing NC can do is let people buy insurance in other states where it's less expensive. Period. This will cause the insurance monopoly - BCBS - (and potential competitors) to put pressure on the General Assembly to get rid of some of the more egregious (read: costly) coverage mandates, so that the price can be brought down to be competitive with other states.
Other ideas:
- tax credits for the individual market to level the playing field with federal tax treatment of employer-based insurance.
- stop expanding Schip so that children stay in the risk pool and people can afford insurance
- Give a subsidized HSA/HDHP option in lieu of Medicaid
- Mandate Lite legislation that would require companies offer coverage components like chiropractic, but people could opt out.
-More where these came from.
Posted on February 3, 2008 8:39 AM